Wake Me From This Nightmare
by stndabvthcrwd1
Summary: Sam and Dean were just in need of a hunt, and decided to help a poor girl out. They didn't expect complications. They didn't think it'd turn out like this ; DeanOC ; originally based on "The Benders" ; REVIEWS appreciated!
1. Interruption

**Thermopolis, Wyoming**

**8:54 PM**

The waitress came and set the plate of grilled chicken and potatoes in front of her, the ceramic making a soft clunking noise. She smiled weakly, and thanked the waitress girl. The bar/diner was low-lit and quiet, just the soft murmur of the few customers to be heard. There was a faint haze about the place, to match the slight cigarette smell in the air. People ignored one another, and talked quietly. There was the faintest hint of classic rock music coming from the old juke-box across the room from her table, and soft sounds of silver clicking against plates like hers. She half-heartedly cut the chicken into small pieces, then poked through her baked potato. Then she - and nearly everyone else in the small diner - looked to the door at the bell-chime of someone entering.

Two someones, actually. Two men, one tall and thin, with shaggy dark brown hair and a cute face (in a very serious expression for his apparent age); the other shorter by a few inches, handsome, with short, spiky brown hair, a squarer jaw, and also a serious expression. Nothing special, and she went back to tearing the already small pieces of chicken into shreds with her fork. The food looked good, and smelled good, but just didn't sound good. It was hard to eat, she'd discovered, with so much on her mind. Worry, fear, and guilt had it's effects on people. Instead she tried to take a light drink of her beer, but found that wasn't very satisfying either. It all tasted the same anymore. So with a sigh, she rested her forehead on her palm and closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to clear out her mind.

He was missing, that's honestly all she knew. He'd been missing for days now, and she had nothing, had no idea where she was going. One moment he was in the same hotel room as her, sleeping in the bed opposite, then he's gone. There was no sound, no sign of anything. It was like he had disappeared into thin air. And it was driving her crazy. Since that morning she'd slept a total of maybe five hours, if that. She'd hardly eaten, hardly communicated with anyone other than trying to figure if anyone had seen him. Because people don't just disappear, something always had to happen.

She was shocked out of her thoughts by a man clearing his throat. She looked up emotionlessly and raised an eyebrow. "That didn't take long."

The man smiled a crooked, white flash of teeth. "You're just that eye-catching." He winked and she rolled her eyes. "Can I sit?"

"Suit yourself." She sighed, honestly not caring what the man wanted.

"I'm Dean." He smiled handsomely again, and held out a hand.

She shook it hesitantly. "Nicole." She let go of his rough grip and looked around the small diner for a moment. "You sure don't waste time, do you? You and your friend just got here a couple minutes ago."

"Nah, why waste time just lookin' at ya when talking is so much more interesting?" His baritone voice was practically dripping with flirtation, and it was aggravating.

"What's your friend's name?" Nicole couldn't hold back the small smile on her face, when his faltered at her words. Oh yeah, he could flirt all he wanted but she could mess with him.

Dean looked over his shoulder at the taller man that had arrived with him. "Uh that's Sam. My brother."

"Brother, really? Older or younger?"

"Younger." The smile was back.

"I see."

"You got any siblings?"

Innocent question, but not harmless. She looked down at the beer bottle she was cradling. "Uh, yeah. I've got a younger brother too."

"Is yours as much of a pain in the ass as mine?" The man joked, but she wasn't sharing it.

"He was."

"Was?"

She shook her head. "It's a long story." She took another drink of her beer. "So is that why you're here? To discuss siblings with me?"

His charming white smile was even bigger now. "Oh no. I'm pretty sure you can guess what I'm here for." He winked again, olive-colored eyes reflecting his grin.

For his entertainment, Nicole forced a strained smile of her own. "No thanks."

The confident grin faltered again. "...huh?"

"I said 'no thanks'." She took another drink while he tried to process what she meant. "I take it you don't get that answer often."

"Uh...uh no. Not often..at all.."

"Well there's a first for everything, ain't there?"

"But c'mon, just let me get you a beer."

Nicole stood and raised the bottle she was drinking from. "I think I've got that covered, thanks."

"One more won't hurt, c'mon. Humor me."

Now her smile wasn't as forced, but it held no amusement. "Why would I ever do that? Go score elsewhere, I'm sure you can."

"Aw, now that's not fair. I just wanna t-"

"Is your skull that thick? I said _no_, got it? Now leave me the hell alone." She threw down a couple bills on the table for the waitress to clean up food that hadn't been touched, and stalked away. Surprisingly not out of the diner, just to the bar. Simply, away from him. And when she sneakily glanced over a few seconds later, the man was still recovering from being turned down. Nicole couldn't help but smile, and ordered herself another drink. The unwelcome arrival had interrupted her thinking.

"Excuse me," Nicole was interrupted again by a softer male voice. She looked up and saw the taller, younger guy, Sam. "Do you mind if I sit here?" He gestured to the stool beside her. Nicole sighed heavily, already beyond tired of these guys' game.

"Why not."

"Thanks." He settled down, ordered his own beer and then turned to face her. He took a breath, a nervous, cute smile on his face, and extended his large hand. "I'm Sam Winchester."

"Nicole." She shook his hand quickly, then went back to her beer. Sam took another breath, but she cut him off. "I already told your brother no, so don't expect me to change for you."

"What? Oh, uh, no that's not what I was gonna say."

She raised an eyebrow. "No, eh? Than what?"

"I wanted to apologize for him, actually." His cute, bright grin was practically an apology in itself. "He was out of line. I just don't think he's used to being turned down." He chuckled softly and she faintly smiled.

"Yeah, didn't really seem like it."

"Yeah. So anyway, that's all really. Dean just thinks he can roll around and get whoever he wants all the time. Probably a good thing someone proved him wrong." He just smiled now and she did back.

"So, uh, Sam, do you and Dean live here?"

"Nah, we're just passing through. Got some business to do, then we're done."

"Yeah? What kinda business in this little town?"

"Uhm, just family stuff really." He played with his beer bottle while speaking. "What about you?"

"I'm here on family stuff too, I guess you could say."

"Business, or just to see family?"

"I'm, uh, actually looking for part of my family. My little brother, actually."

"He live here?" Sam's dark, soft-hazel eyes were studying her.

"No, he and I were visiting some family down in Casper. He, uh, wandered off I guess."

"Wandered off?" Sam's brown eyebrows were furrowed in curiousity now. "How do you mean?"

Nicole sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, it's nothing."

"No, it might be something. Maybe I can help."

She stared at him for a long while, carefully observing the young man. He seemed honestly interested and maybe concerned. Would he think she was overreacting, like everyone else did? She sighed. "My brother has..disappeared. That's really the only way to explain it. One moment he was there, the next, gone."

"Disappeared? Did you see him suddenly vanish or did it happen when you weren't there?"

Nicole was surprised by the intensity of Sam's question, but took advantage of it. "When we were checking out from the hotel, I had him go wait outside. I came out, and he was gone."

"Gone? Did he say he was going to go somewhere, or-"

She shook her head. "No."

"How long were you checking out?"

"Uh, maybe..two minutes? It was a short line."

Sam nodded slowly, dark eyes thinking. "You didn't hear anything? See anything?"

"No, nothing."

"Was there any sign of struggle maybe?"

"No. His bags were still sitting there. Even his coat. I asked around the entire hotel, but no one had seen anything." Nicole's blue eyes were showing some of the fear she'd been holding onto. "He was just _gone_."

"How did you wind up here?"

"Thomas had some friends living here that I thought he might come to see, or who might know where he would be. I came up here to talk with them." She sighed. "I've been here the whole day and found absolutely nothing."

"How long ago did Thomas disappear?"

"About three days."

Sam nodded again, thinking.

"Sam, do you know what might have happened to my brother?"

"I don't know yet, but I might be able to help you figure it out."

Nicole paused, watching him. "Why would you offer to help me find Thomas? You don't know either of us, and for all you know, I might be crazy."

Sam smiled faintly, glancing down before meeting her eyes. "It's sort of my job."

With perfect timing, Sam's older and rather overly-confident brother sauntered up to them both. He looked between them, with that shit-eating grin of his flashing broadly. "Hey you two. How are things goin'?"

Nicole smirked, his obvious jealousness of Sam radiating off of him. "Good, actually." She cut in before Sam could, oddly enjoying tormenting the older man. "Sam here was just offering to help me out with something."

"Oh?" Dean raised his eyebrows and turned to Sam, silently demanding an answer.

Sam looked uncomfortable, glancing between Dean and Nicole with his mouth open in hesitation to reply. "Uh..uh, yeah. She was telling me about this thing with her brother, and I thought..well, it might be our kinda thing." He shrugged slightly and made eye contact with Dean, as if to hint at something.

"Our kind of thing?" Dean repeated and Sam nodded. The green eyes turned to Nicole now. "So what's the deal with your brother?"

She sighed again, having to quickly detach herself from the now serious olive-gaze and took a swig of her beer. "Sit."


	2. The Verdict

**Thanks for the review Saber Apricot, and just to clear up what I meant on the diner/bar thing, is that around here we've got a few little restaurants that also have bars in them. So that's basically what I meant :)**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**9:37 PM**

Eventually, Nicole had told Dean and Sam more about her brother's disappearance than she even thought she knew. It was kind of weird, actually, all the questions they asked her. She eyed them as they murmured to each other, bodies turned slightly away from her. Sam seemed to be trying to convince his brother of something, while Dean looked bored.

"Hey, guys, am I gonna be part of this again?" She nudged into their quiet conversation. Dean raised his eyebrows and his green eyes bore into hers for a moment, before flicking over to Sam as he sighed.

"Yeah. 'Spose."

"You 'spose what?"

"We'll help you find your brother and his friend." Sam replied.

"But you've got to do as we say, alright?" Dean interrupted and got a glare from his brother.

"What Dean means is that it'd be safer if you kinda gave us some of the reins." Sam added gently. "We know what we're doing."

"What, you guys help people find their families all the time or something?"

"Uh, we help a lot of people. With a lot of different things. We're just saying we can probably handle this better than you can."

"You think I can't find my own brother without your guys' help?"

"No, no we're not saying that. It's just.." Sam looked away with a sigh, then spoke quietly. "There can be some pretty bad things out there."

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Yeah."

"No, I mean it." He bit his lip for a second, teeth bright against his tanned skin. "Dean and I know what we're doing, okay? You gotta work with us." The dark, grey-brown eyes pleaded softly.

"Okay, okay." Nicole gave in uneasily. "Just stop giving me that look, please. You look so pathetic."

Dean snorted and then laughed, bumping Sam and grinning. Sam flushed and leaned back. "Sorry."

The older brother was still laughing, charming smile flashing against the stubble on his jaw. "Finally." He leaned forward with his beer bottle, and Nicole tapped hers against it in hesitant response. "Someone resistant to the Puppy Dog Charm."

"Puppy Dog Charm?"

"It gets everyone, every time. Sam's apparently just so damn cute, y'see, that-"

"Dean, come on." Sam protested, face still red.

"Ah now, Sammy, calm down." Dean turned to Nicole again, a smirk on his ruggedly handsome face. "He just gives people this sad-little-Sammy look and they're goners. Totally willing to put up with us, just cause Cutsie here can look like a beaten puppy and pull at your heart strings." He took a swig of his beer. "It's quite disturbing, honestly."

Nicole couldn't help but smile, shaking her head lightly. "I'm sure you're just jealous that you don't even have the _ability_ to look cute."

Sam unexpectedly erupted in laughter, and Dean glowered, bright eyes hard. "You don't think I can be cute?"

"Not really." She took a leisurely drink of her beer.

"I can definitely be cute."

"Oh?"

He flashed her a big grin, white teeth flashing charmingly and green eyes crinkling in a cute effect. Then it turned into just a smug smirk. "See? I can be cute."

"I wouldn't say that was cute."

"Oh come on!"

Nicole shook her head, trying to hide her smile. Sure, he was definitely cute, but no way was she going to admit it. "Excuse me for a minute." She slid off the stool and headed towards the bathroom with a sigh.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Dean turned to his little brother. "Dude, what are we doing with this chick?"

"Helpin' her find her brother."

"Why? What makes you think this is our kinda gig?"

"It just feels like it, Dean."

"It could just be a simple kidnapping. They happen all the time."

"I don't think this is. Here," Sam pulled out his laptop from his bag, glancing around him before flipping open the top.

"What's the matter, Sammy? You think someone's gonna finally realize how much of a geek you are?" Dean taunted, getting a simple glare from his brother. The computer was still on, and open to the last page Sam had been looking at.

"Look at this. I was going through some newspapers from around the state and, with doing the math, way more people have disappeared around here then there should be. Too many for simple kidnappings."

"How many?"

"Over the past five years, twenty-two cases like this."

Dean raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, studying the computer screen. "Okay, so that is a lot of people."

"And this state does not have enough people in it to justify them." Sam slid the laptop closer to him again. "All of them disappeared a lot like Nicole's brother - from outside a building. Office buildings, stores, homes..One guy was on a picnic with his family and went missing."

"How many have been found?"

Sam sighed, closing the laptop. "None."

Dean's features were unusually serious, reflecting Sam's, and the army-green eyes studied the walls before meeting his brother. "Okay, this might be our kind of thing." Sam nodded. "But what if Nicole's thing is totally unrelated to these other disappearances? What if it's just a random kidnapping?"

Sam shrugged. "Hunts are scarce at the moment anyway. Might as well find some way to entertain ourselves. Plus, we've got this girl's hopes up already to find her brother. We have to do something."

Dean stared at his own little brother, whom he'd come close to losing himself far too many times. He could understand Nicole's determination to find her brother, and knew that at this point, they had to help her. They both turned at the sound of a door swinging shut, and saw Nicole finally emerging from the restroom. She took her seat again with a huff, and gulped down the rest of her beer.

"So what's the verdict?" She asked them both, ordering another drink.

"Pardon?" Sam asked, always polite.

"I'm sure you two were discussing me and my brother while I was in there. So what's the plan?"

Dean glanced at Sam, then looked at her again. "We'll help you out. Just remember that if we say something that sounds important, you should probably listen."

"You mean you can say important shit?" Nicole smirked with a raised eyebrow.

Sam tried to hide a small smile while Dean rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious."

"I try." She took a swig of her newest - and fifth - drink.

"Not enough apparently." He challenged.

"Just enough for you to keep up, man."

"Keep up with your words or your alcohol intake?"

"Hey, I'm an adult. I can drink as much as I like. You should try it sometime."

"You both are acting like kids. Stop flirting, we should get going." Sam interrupted. "It's late."

Dean sighed and turned away from Nicole, aggravated. "Whatever."

Nicole emptied the bottle in hand, then sighed and pushed away from the bar. "Sure thing."

"Nicole, where are you staying?" Sam asked her as she stood.

"A hotel just down the street a bit."

"I think we should check in there, too." He looked at Dean as he spoke, then back at Nicole. "So that we can get a good start tomorrow."

"Is that necessary?"

"It might be."

She scratched the back of her head for a second. "Alright, fine."

Sam and Dean stood now, Sam still doing the talking. "Do you want us to give you a ride?" Dean shot him a threatening look, which he ignored.

"It's not that far, I walked here."

"Well it's late now, and you've had a bit to drink. We can give you a lift."

She sighed again, realizing Sam did not give in easily. "Sure, that'd be nice."

"Great. You two head outside, I've got to take care of nature."

Dean brushed past Nicole and Sam without a reply, heading outside. Nicole followed tiredly. Outside, they wandered over to the car, and Dean leaned back against it comfortably. They glared at each other for a long moment, before Dean's deep voice broke the cold silence.

"You're kind of bitchy, you know that?"

"I've heard it before."

The olive-colored eyes continued to glare. "And you're frustrating. What's your problem?"

"I'm just lettin' ya know that you can't slide over to me and expect to be adored."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"When you came up to me while I was eating-"

"You were tearing your food to pieces. That doesn't count as eating."

"Oh, who gives a shit? Either way, you totally expected me to let you do whatever. You're overly confident, arrogant, and annoying."

"Yet you're agreeing to stick with me for days, maybe even a couple weeks."

"I just want to find my brother."

"Yeah, okay."

They lapsed into silence again, both of them wondering how fucking long it took Sam to piss. "So this is your's, huh?" Nicole eyed the sleek black vehicle, breaking the tension.

"Yep. This mah baby." Dean couldn't help grinning charmingly and gently patted the car. "You like it?"

"Definitley. It just might be hotter than you." She teased, not fully realizing what she'd just said until it was too late.

Dean chuckled. "Oh I think I still win."

"Yeah? How do ya figure?" She stood next to him and leaned against the car sideways, her elbow on the top of the car and propping her head up with her hand, eyebrow raised at the handsome man in front of her.

He eyed her carefully, a faint smirk on his pouty-pursed lips. "Cause I can do this better." His rough hand curved around the back of her neck and pulled her mouth to his in one quick, smooth motion. Nicole's body stiffened for just a second, surprised by the sudden advance but not resisting. And then Dean's smooth, warm lips were moving with hers and pushing them apart until his tongue joined in. She sighed softly into the warmth of his mouth, and her hands curled around the back of his neck, her fingertips in his short hair. Her tongue moved with his, and he tasted like beer and something sweet, warm. He nibbled lightly on her bottom lip, then full-out kissed her again, until she pulled away with a gasp. Then she pushed him away, revulsion in her features.

"You bastard!" She spat, wiping at her mouth.

Dean's light brown eyebrows pulled forward in confusion, his enticing green eyes standing out beneath a street light. "Hey, I didn't do anything wr-"

"You fucking attacked me! Ugh, did you not understand? I'm not going to-" Her ranting sentence was cut short by his mouth on hers. His kiss was warm again, tenderly moving his lips with hers - keeping his tongue to himself for the time being. Her hands were against his chest like she wanted to push him away, but she didn't even try. One of his large hands was holding gently to her arm, while the other cradled the back of her neck.

Nicole feebly tried to stop the kissing, breaking away for a moment. "Dean, would you ju-" She was interrupted again by his gentle kiss and her body relaxed unwillingly against him. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he was so...pleasurable. A great kisser, warm, gentle, strong. It definitely should not have been happening, but Nicole was having trouble finding the will in her to make Dean stop. So it was happening, and it was nice. Dean's soft lips danced lightly across her jaw, until someone cleared their throat, in interruption.

Dean and Nicole both froze and turned to the source of the sound. Sam was standing idly a few feet away, looking down in embarrassement and rubbing the back of his neck. Dean opened his mouth to speak and looked at Nicole for a second, who looked as panicked as he did. They let go of each other stimultaneously, and walked to opposite ends of the car. Dean cleared his throat and scratched at the back of his hair for a second, making a face as he eyed his younger brother.

"Uh, yeah, sorry 'bout that Sammy. I don't uh, know what all...just got carried away, y'know?"

"Yeah, Sam, sorry about that. We've both had a bit to drink, and all. I so wouldn't..." Nicole cut in as well, her face flushed.

Sam shook his head, shaggy hair flopping slightly into his dark eyes. "Just get in the car."

"Sorry, Sammy. Really just-" Dean started again but Sam shook his head and held up a hand.

"For the love of God, get in the car." He made a disturbed face, shook his head again, and slid into the driver's seat. Nicole hesitantly jumped in the back, while Dean rode shot gun. The trip was dead silent.


	3. Roadtrip

**1:45 AM**

_It was dark. She was running. Running to something, and from something. But she had to find it before she was caught, and time ran out. The air in her lungs seemed to be draining too quickly to refill again, and yet she knew she couldn't stop. It was darker now, she was running through the trees. Rustling behind her - it was getting close. But she wasn't. She couldn't see her way and couldn't find what she was looking for. What was she looking for? She'd forgotten, but she knew there was no stopping now. Stopping meant to fail. Breathing was difficult, and the trees were denser, harder to move between. And then she was stumbling across invisible stones and logs, until she tripped. Her hands and knees hit against wet ground, cold ground, but she couldn't stop just because she'd fallen. The something behind her was closer, louder, almost there. So she crawled, sticks and rocks and god-knows-what scratching her hands, arms, and now bare legs. Everything was cold, and dark, and even though she wasn't running it was just as hard to breathe. She tried to scream but nothing came out. No one would hear her when-_

Nicole jerked awake, her eyes flying open. She swore she could still feel the cold, and her chest hurt with her breathing. Rather than focus on the - now repetitive - nightmare, she stared at the dark walls of the hotel room, and tried to clear her head. She tried not to think about anything, especially not the dream. Not even about her brother, about how long it'd been since he'd disappeared, about how little she was finding out, about the two men in the room next to her, about the moment by the car- she stopped and sighed again. That was a nightmare in itself. She glanced over at the clock - 1:47. The nightmare was going to keep her up, yet again. How unusual. Rather than fight what was going to happen anyway, Nicole swung her legs out of the bed and to the floor. She padded quietly over to the lamp and flicked it on, a slight orange glow falling on anything within a seven foot radius. She flicked on the TV and muted it, then turned to the news. Hoping to maybe see something that related to missing persons in the state, to give her a lead.

After staring at the screen for nearly twenty minutes and seeing nothing, a faint grunt startled her. Nicole looked towards where the sound had come from, but no one was there. Then she saw a faint light under the door separating her room and Dean and Sam's. One of them was just going to the bathroom. A flush, then some soft, deep mumbling, and water running in the sink. Then the light flicked off and dull footsteps strode towards a bed again. Nicole let go of a strange breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and stared at the door for a moment more before turning back to the TV. While the useless thing ranted about recent wars and gas prices, she pulled out the pen and notebook she'd been using lately and laid down on her stomach, the paper in front of her. Thus began another round of the ritual she fell into the past few nights - watching for something on the news, and writing down any plans, ideas, thoughts or random suggestions on Thomas's disappearance that entered her mind. It was going to be a long night. Again.

-

A soft tap on the wooden door caused Nicole to jump, a cold rush of adrenaline hitting her. "Come in." She finally answered, and the door cracked open until Dean's head poked in.

"Oh you're already up." He glanced pointedly at the clock - 7:05. He apparently hadn't expected her to be awake yet. "I was, uh, gonna grab some breakfast. Sam wanted me to see if you wanted anything."

"Uhm.." Nicole wasn't sure if she should accept the boys' polite offer or not. She didn't want them to think she needed them around. "Sure. Why not. Tell Sam thanks."

Dean flashed her a strained smile and pulled back a bit, before hesitating and taking a small step into the room. "How long have you been up?"

"Just a little bit."

He nodded and glanced around for a second, green eyes studying the scribbled-on-journal until Nicole flipped it shut. He glanced at her for a moment. "I saw your light on this morning, at like 2 AM. Did you ever sleep last night?"

She shrugged. "Why does it matter?"

"Have you slept at all since your brother went missing?"

"Why, Dean?" Her sleeping schedule was not his business.

"Because I really think you're trying too hard with all of this."

"How would you know? I'm obviously not getting anywhere, so trying too hard is not the problem."

He walked lazily around the bed she was sitting on, glancing at the things on the bedtable and then out the window as he spoke. "I might know because I've almost lost _my_ brother. Several times." His deep voice was soft, to prevent Sam from hearing in the next room. "I've almost gotten him killed, more than once. So I might have an idea." The jade eyes were firm now, and Nicole felt guilt fall over her. She'd never even thought about him and Sam.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"No, you didn't. You still don't." Half of that stupid grin of his flashed, as if his words were funny. Then it disappeared and he sighed. "I understand why you're freaking out Nicole, just try not to beat yourself up if things seem to be going slow. None of this is your fault. Sam and I can help, remember that."

Nicole struggled to get the words out, uncomfortable as hell around him, since last night. She wondered if he was thinking about it too. "..Thanks Dean."

He didn't nod or anything, just stared at empty space for a moment, before sighing and stepping towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit." And then he was gone.

After Dean had been gone from the room for about five minutes, Nicole cleaned up. She showered, dressed, and shoved her few little necessities in a small bag she carried outside her car. Once of the items was her cell phone, and she noticed two missed calls from her mother. No doubt they were about Thomas, and wondering why he hadn't come by again to see her before they left Casper. Why else would her mom ever call her? Never just to talk to her, they all knew that. Get Thomas involved though, and suddenly there's everything to say. Nicole grumbled a bit, and then knocked to enter the guys' room.

"Go ahead." Dean answered, and she stepped through. She glanced around for a moment, surprised how little evidence the brothers had ever been there, there was. "Food's over there." He nodded towards their bedside table.

"Uh, I'm not really hungry now. Thanks."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. Hey Sammy, come on man!" He shouted towards the bathroom, and pounded a fist against it a couple times.

"Shut up, Dean!" Sam yelled in reply and Nicole smiled slightly.

"Mature, guys."

"Oh we try." Dean grinned charmingly and winked.

Nicole turned away as an involuntary blush spread across her face.

Sam stepped out of the bathroom then and, after shooting at glare at his brother, grabbed his bag. "You two ready?'

"Waiting on you." Dean answered and grabbed his bag too, then headed out the door. Sam simply sighed and followed, Nicole hesitating for a moment before picking up her things and following as well. These guys didn't waste time, she was glad to see.

By the time Nicole got downstairs, the two men had already checked out and were tossing their bags into the back of Dean's Impala. She walked over as well, but didn't throw her bag in. Dean noticed.

"What's up?"

"Where are we even going? I don't have any leads."

Sam spoke up. "We're gonna head back down to Casper, considering that's where your brother disappeared from. Maybe we can find something."

"I've already looked."

"Well maybe you missed something." Dean suggested, and Nicole glared.

"I don't think so."

"Well either way," Sam interrupted again. "We'd like to check it out."

"Whatever then."

"Alright, so come on. It's what, like a two hour drive there?" Dean reached for her bag, but Nicole kept it away from him.

"Yeah about."

"We need to hussle then. The longer we take, the less chance we have of finding your brother."

"Don't you think I know that?" Nicole snapped, aggravated already by Dean. "It's still a two hour drive though."

He grinned. "Depends on the driver."

Nicole shrugged. "I've still got to take my car."

Dean made a face. "It'd be faster if we just had mine."

"Maybe, but I can't just leave my car here. We're going to Casper anyway, so I can drive my car there and leave it at my Dad's house. If you guys find anything and it takes us anywhere, that is."

"Won't your Dad wonder about where your brother is?

"He'll just think Thomas went home."

"And not be curious about you leaving your car with him?"

Nicole sighed. "I'll make up some bullshit story about visiting a friend in some other state, okay? Now can we please get going?"

Dead hesitated, tossing his keys around in his hand. And then he tossed them to Sam. "Take my car. Nicole, I'll drive yours."

Both Sam and Nicole stared at Dean, until Sam finally spoke. "What?"

"I can probably make it go faster than Nicole can, and I'll keep up with the Impala. You drive my car."

"Uh..okay." Sam headed over to the driver's side of the sleek black car.

"Nicole. Keys?" Dean held out his hand and after a moment's hesitation, Nicole handed him her keys. "You ridin' with me?" He asked as he walked over to the little '83 Ford Mustang.

"Uh...no. I think I'll keep Sam company." She was definitley not comfortable with being stuck with Dean in a small space for a couple hours. "Plus, two hours in a car with you, and I might fling myself from the vehicle before too long."

Dean rolled his eyes. "It'd take a load off us, at least."

"Can we go, guys?" Sam was ever the attempted peace maker. "We don't know how long we have." He made eye contact with Dean here, and the older brother nodded.

"Right. Nicole, I'll try not to cause any more damage to this thing than necessary." He winked, flashing that shit-eating grin of his, and ducked into her little car. With a grumble, Nicole slid into the passenger seat of the Impala - sure to give the door a little slam. Sam started the engine and then pulled out of the hotel parking lot, heading to the highway from Nicole's instructions. He watched the rearviewmirror for a minute, making sure Dean was following and not being too obnoxious. Finally, he comfortably steered the dark vehicle down the highway, only several miles above the speed limit.


	4. Nothing?

**Outside Casper, Wyoming**

**8:46 AM**

"So, what does your little brother even look like?" Sam spoke after over an hour of silence.

"Light-blonde short hair, same blue eyes as me, about six-foot, kinda lanky." Nicole spoke while staring out the window, to the scattered snow drifts on the tan prairie. "I can grab a picture from Dad's house, if you'd like."

"That'd be great, yeah. Just in case."

Nicole nodded, before speaking again. "Sam..."

"Hm?" The gentle brown eyes glanced over at her a second, before returning to the road.

She spoke softly. "What do you think the chances of finding Thomas are?"

Sam paused. "Well I don't know for-"

"Don't sugar-coat shit with me, Sam. Please. What are the chances?"

He sighed. "Not very high, I don't think." Nicole nodded, having guessed the same answer. "That doesn't mean we won't find him though. It just means I don't know when."

"I understand." They were silent for another long moment, until Nicole turned slightly towards the tall man. "Uh and Sam, last night, what you saw with Dean..that..that was an accident. I'd just had too much to drink, and-"

"I know, you don't need to explain."

"I just don't want you to think that's what I do. I mean, I'm sure it's no surprise to see Dean doing something like that, but-"

"What do you mean, no surprise?" Sam glanced over at her again.

"I'm just saying that your brother seemed to know what he was doing."

Sam laughed shortly. "Well that's for sure." He shook his head with a sigh, continually watching the road.

"I just want you to know I'm not like that. He just kinda jumped on me, and I was drunk, so I didn't really-"

"Nicole," Sam looked over at her again, a faint, charming smile on his lips. "Chill."

She tried to smile back, lips twitching faintly. "Yeah. Thanks."

Sam nodded, watching the road again.

Just minutes later, Nicole noticed familiar signs and scattered buildings. "We're already here?"

"Guess so."

"That was only like an hour and a half."

"This car is good for something."

Nicole smiled faintly again and directed Sam off the interstate, into the actual town. They made sure Dean was following them through the city, and then Nicole led them to her father's house. They parked in front of the house, and Dean kicked Sam out of the driver's seat while Nicole ran into the building. She emerged shortly after and climbed back into the vehicle, behind Sam.

"Here's Thomas." She handed Sam a wallet-sized picture of her younger brother, which he took with a nod and glance.

Dean leaned over to look at the picture as well. "Sure this kid is your brother? Looks nothing like you."

"Yeah, well, not like you two look loads alike either. Sam's what, four inches taller than you?" Nicole challenged with a smirk.

Dean glanced at Sam, then at the street as he pulled away from the house. "...three."

"Huh." Nicole snorted with a slight smile and took the picture back, then gave directions to the hotel Thomas has disappeared outside of.

"Alright." Dean stopped the car outside the small hotel building. "Your brother went out this front door?" Nicole nodded, as they all climbed out of the vehicle to look around. Sam and Dean both strode towards the doors, looking at the ground and surroundings. "You didn't see him talking to anyone? Maybe one of the employees, or a traveler?"

"No, nothing. I told him to go wait outside, and then the person at the front desk was waiting for me to check out." Nicole sighed and looked down at the icy asphalt, her breath coming out in a cold puff. "I didn't see him again."

Dean nodded, and then turned to Sam. "You should go around the building, see if you can find anything. Take Nicole with you."

Sam caught his brother's tone and nodded as well, then gestured for Nicole to follow him to a different side of the hotel.

Dean waited a moment, then pulled out the EMF reader from inside his coat and waited for a sign that anything supernatural had occured. He walked all around the front door and sidewalk, catching several odd glances from strangers, but got no reading. Hearing footsteps, he quickly put away the device and cleared his throat as Sam and Nicole walked up. "Anything?"

"No. You?"

Dean shook his head. "No, not a thing."

"I told you guys, there's nothing here." Nicole insisted and Sam nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Looks like it."

"So now what do we do? We have nothing to go on."

"Haven't you filed a missing persons report?" Dean asked as they walked back to his car.

"I'm not going to wait a month to hear 'Sorry ma'am, but we still haven't found anything'. I'm going to make sure there is nothing before someone tells me they've done all they can. I'm gonna do it myself until Thomas is found." Her voice got quieter as she ducked into the back seat again, and both of the brothers understood.

"Shouldn't you tell your parents at least?" The green eyes watching her in the rearviewmirror were gentle.

"No way, my mom would call the freakin' FBI, rather than the cops."

"Your dad wouldn't do anything?"

"He would, just not like mom. Thomas is everything to her. He's just like her."

Sam and Dean exchanged an uncomfortable glance, until Dean's deep voice broke the current silence. "Sorry."

Nicole paid no attention to his words, and instead asked if he minded stopping at the bar they were about to pass, so they could calm down and think around a couple beers. He agreed and slowed the vehicle until they came to a rest outside a small building that smelled like cigarette smoke. They all quickly strode inside, the late-November weather too cold to tolerate for long. They seated themselves at a small table in the back, away from drunken listening ears. Dean ordered them each a beer, and then he and Sam faced Nicole.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Nicole intercepted his sentence. "You guys don't know what to do now, do you?"

He glanced at his younger brother, who spoke instead. "We just don't have a plan."

"Which means you have no leads, and this is going no where."

"Nicole, this kind of thing takes time." Sam's voice was soft, reassuring. "We don't know what we're looking for, so it's hard to find it. We'll get your brother back though, I swear."

She nodded, but didn't verbalize her agreement, didn't look at either of them. Just took another drink that she hardly tasted.

"You hungry yet?" Dean finally asked. Nicole shook her head, but he was hesitant to get up and get food for himself. "Are you sure? I haven't seen you eat since we ran into you."

"You mean since you hit on me?" She watched as he, the cocky bastard, didn't blush or grow uncomfortable at all. He just grinned, straight teeth flashing charmingly. She made a disgusted sound and looked away, keeping her reply simple. "Not hungry."

"Suit yourself then." He sauntered off to the bar, flashing his smile at a couple girls as he passed. He made her stomach twist.

Then something else twisted her stomach. Nicole set the bottle in hand down, and squinted slightly, cigarette smoke giving the large room a slight haze. "What the.."

Sam looked up from his laptop - yet again open - at her words. "Something wrong?" She didn't answer, and he followed her attentive gaze, but saw nothing special. Nothing to signify anything supernatural, either. "Nicole? What's wrong?"

"I-" She stopped the sentence she'd hardly started, and shook her head. "I don't know."

"What were you looking at?"

"Just a guy that looked familiar."

Sam looked around again, in the direction she'd been looking. "Which guy? Where?"

Nicole glanced at him, not sure why he was so curious who she'd seen, but turned to look again anyway. "That guy." She pointed to the bar. "Jeans, dark jacket, short brown hair and a goatee. See him?"

Sam stared for a second, then nodded. "Where've you seen him?"

She shrugged, still watching the guy. "Just at the hotel. He wasn't checked in though."

That caught Sam's attention, and he watched Nicole now. "Then why was he there?"

"I don't know. I saw him outside a couple times, but that's it."

The younger man leaned forward, closer to her, his soft voice urgent. "Nicole, did you see him the day Thomas disappeared?"

Her returning look was confused, not sure what exactly Sam was thinking. "Uh..uh, yeah. Just for a minute."

"Before or after Thomas vanished?"

"Uh, before. I went to gas up my car and saw him outside, as always. That was it though." She studied Sam's determined puppy-like features, staring intently at the man. "Sam, you don't honestly think this guy has anything to do with Thomas, do you?"

"I don't know, maybe. He's the only thing we've got right now." The brown eyes returned to her, and for once they weren't soft. They looked hardened and intense. Like his brother's.

"But that's grasping at some serious straws, man. There's nothing to suggest-"

"What about straws?" Dean returned just then, casually balancing a plate with a burger on it. He slid in beside Nicole, who instinctively pressed closer to the wall.

"Nicole recognizes a man here from her and Thomas's hotel. The guy with the goatee, in the dark jacket at the bar." He gestured towards the man and Dean's green eyes studied him for a moment."

"Okay. So?"

"She says he never checked in. She just saw him outside a couple times. More specifically, the morning her brother disappeared."

Dean chewed while he thought, olive-eyes tracing around nearly everyone in the bar. "I'm with Nicole on this, Sammy. That's not much to go on."

"It's all we've got, Dean."

"I understand that, Ghost Whisperer, but we can't just go after someone cause they happened to be outside the hotel the same day Thomas disappeared. Otherwise we'd be after a hundred different people."

Sam sighed, exasperated that no one else was seeing his point of view. "But why was he there if he didn't have a room?"

Dean shrugged. "Creeper checking out the chicks? I don't know, man. But I think you're making a big deal out of nothing."

The younger brother sighed again, this time tiredly. "Yeah. Alright."

"Maybe we can at least ask him if he saw Thomas that morning?" Nicole finally spoke up, and the brothers shared a look. "What, neither of you thought of that?" Nicole raised an eyebrow, a half smile on her face.

"We just..didn't think it was necessary." Dean added helplessly.

"Sure." Nicole smiled crookedly and then uncomfortably faced the man beside her. "Do you, uh, mind moving? I'd like to talk to the guy myself."

Dean raised his own eyebrow, the edges of his lips curling up slightly as he chewed on a french fry still sticking out from his lips. Involuntarily, her gaze trailed around the curves of his pursed mouth, the attractive stubble along his square jaw, the short brown hair framing his ears, across to the light brown eyebrows and to the long eyelashes surrounding his sparkling olive-green eyes. Just as quickly, Nicole shoved herself back into focus, clearing her throat and trying to look impatient. He smiled, soft lips pulling back to reveal his straight, white teeth in a perfectly dazzling smile.

"Now, Dean?" Focus, she reminded herself. Focus. The grin stayed on his ruggedly handsome face, but he stood and stepped away for her to pass. Nicole cleared her throat again, annoyed by herself for even looking at him like that. Then she was headed towards the man at the bar, and Dean disappeared from her mind imediately. She actually hoped Sam was right, and this guy knew something. Because as he'd said - it's all they had.

Nicole approached the man at the bar, who eyed her for a moment before paying attention to his drink again. She turned towards him and tried to put some sort of smile on her face. "Hey. I think I've seen you before." She started, and the man eyed her again, wary now. "Have you been around the Ramada Inn lately? I think I've seen you there once or twice."

"No, I don't think that was me." The man was moving slightly away now, hoping she'd see and leave him alone.

"Are you sure? I could've sworn I've seen you before.."

"Sorry. Not me. I'm not from here." He was moving away even more obviously now.

"Well yeah, but it was a hotel."

"I mean I just got in town. So it wasn't me."

"Oh. Well then, sorry to bother you."

"Not a problem." He answered through a forced smile that clearly stated it _was_ a problem.

Nicole flashed a strained smile in return, and headed back to Dean and Sam. She sat down beside Sam and shook her head.

"He didn't know anything?" Sam asked, but she shook her head again.

"Oh he knew something. He was just lying out his ass." Dean stiffled a short laugh, amused at how blunt she was. He liked being blunt, there was no point in games. Nicole shot him a look, then focused back on Sam. "He told me he just got here today, and that I was mistaken. I know that's him though."

"Okay, so he'd hiding something." Dean was watching the guy as they spoke. "And he's leaving."

Sam and Nicole turned to look at the man at the same time, to see the back of his jacket as he strode out of the bar. The three of them looked at each other for a moment, then jumped up and followed, ignoring their check. The two men and woman hurried after the man, to see him disappearing inside an old truck, and pull out of the parking lot.

"I've seen that truck! It was parked beside the hotel for a while."

"Not in the parking lot?" Sam looked down at her, while Dean continued to watch the vehicle.

"No, just on the curb."

Sam and his brother shared yet another look, and then all three rushed towards the Impala, jumping in and Dean starting the engine with a roar.


	5. Patience Is A Virtue

**_Saber Apricot_thank you so, so much for the reviews :) I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope others will soon too. It definitely encourages me to keep writing!**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**6:17 PM**

The trio followed the old, beat-up Chevy for a few miles around the town, until they came to a stop outside a small strip mall. The driver locked his vehicle, and then headed into the small food store. The three in the Impala were quiet, breathing shallowly to hear any other sound that might be made, for whatever reason. They waited for over half an hour, and the man didn't return to his truck. Eventually, Nicole and Dean got impatient. Sam didn't seem to have that ability.

"Would you two calm down?" Sam finally whispered sharply.

"How fucking long does it take a guy to shop?" Nicole whispered back. "This is taking forever!"

"Well find a way to distract yourself."

Nicole was quiet for a second, before sighing. "I'm going for a walk then."

"What?" Sam twisted around to look at her. "No, that's not an option."

"You said to distract myself! I need to stretch my legs, calm down outside in the fresh air. "

"No way. Too dangerous."

"Are you kidding me? Have you ever _been_ to Casper, Sam?"

"It's dangerous enough for your brother to disappear, isn't it?"

Low blow. Nicole didn't answer, and Dean cleared his throat, shooting her a glance then eyeing his brother.

"I'll go with her."

"No, Dean."

"C'mon Sam, nothin' will happen." The older man was already opening the car door and ducking out.

"You two should just stay here and wait!" Sam tried to insist, but Nicole had followed his brother.

Dean leaned down and smiled at his little brother. "We'll be fifteen minutes." With that, he shut the door and walked off, following closely behind Nicole. Sam sighed and slammed a palm against the steering wheel, but stayed where he was.

"So," Dean started casually. "Nice night."

Nicole barely glanced at him. "It's fucking cold."

He smiled slightly. "Well besides that, nice night."

"Whatever."

"If it's so cold, why did you want to come for a walk?"

She glanced at him again. "I needed fresh air."

"I see. So..you mean you want to look for this guy yourself?" Dean just grinned at her glare and shrugged. "I know it's what I would do."

Nicole hesitated, not having expected him to say that. "Uh, yeah." She stared ahead as they walked around the clustered buildings. "I'm just nervous. That guy should have come out of there by now. Or we should have seen him, at least."

"Maybe he's an impulsive shopper." Nicole wasn't amused, she was too cold for that. Dean noticed. "Alright, fine, I get that you're serious. But like I said earlier, just try to calm down with this okay? Sam and I are here to help, and we'll find your brother."

"Calm down?" Nicole echoed, dark blue eyes flicking angrily to the rough man. "How the hell am I supposed to _calm down_ when my brother is missing? When I should have been watching him, and because I didn't, he's gone? How do I calm down Dean?!"

Dean stopped walking and faced her, strong features smooth and relaxed. "Stop yelling, for one. Two, take a few deep breaths. And three, stop blaming yourself. How do you know Thomas wouldn't have gone missing anyway?"

"Because if I was there I could have protected him!"

He almost smiled at how much she was acting like him, with Sam. "How do you know that? Hm? How do you know that whatever grabbed your brother couldn't have taken you, too?" He raised his eyebrows, green eyes searching hers. She didn't answer. "Exactly, you don't know. So you can't blame yourself."

Nicole was quiet for a moment, tearing herself away from Dean's determined gaze. "Okay." She whispered. "I'll calm down."

Dean was surprised by her agreement, and stood staring at her defeated figure. He turned away, starting to walk again as he muttered, "God, I'm turning into Sam."

A faint smile touched Nicole's lips as she followed, but the cold quickly took it away. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, and they grew aware of nearing their fifteen minute limit they had with Sam. But Nicole didn't want to stop, as she still hoped that they would run into the man from the bar, and get answers our of him themselves. She trembled with the cold as she thought this, the chills running across her skin and impossible to stop. The ever-observant Dean noticed after a while.

"Hey, if you're so cold we can head back to the car."

Nicole shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You're shivering like crazy."

"Dean, I lived here for eighteen years. I'm pretty sure I can handle the cold."

"Alright, suit yourself." He left her alone just a second more, then asked idly, "So how many times have you thought about the other night by the Impala?"

Nicole nearly slipped, she stopped so quickly. "What?"

"You know." Dean turned towards her, soft green eyes standing out brightly with the cold.

She stared for a second. "No."

"No what?"

"I haven't thought about it." She started walking again, avoiding looking at him.

"Okay, so how many times have you pretended not to think about it?"

"Shut up, Dean."

"Oh come on." His deep voice held a teasing note now. "I know you've thought about it. I have."

His words slowed her footstep, and destroyed every comeback she had at the moment, but only for an instant. "Well you're the only one."

"No I'm not. Don't be like this."

"Like what?"

"Pretending you don't think about it. Pretending I don't interest you at all."

"You don't."

"No?"

"No."

"Then why that stare in the bar earlier?"

Nicole swallowed, glad he couldn't see her discomfort. "What stare?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No." She repeated.

"So I don't interest you at all?"

"No." She jumped as a strong hand grabbed her arm and then was staring into Dean's olive eyes, feeling the warmth from him against her chest as he held her close to him. Nicole tried to keep her wits about her, tried not to focus on how close he was and how comforting the warmth was, and most certainly not how close his mouth was to hers.

"I don't interest you at all?" He repeated, deep voice soft, and she shook her head.

"No." The word was whispered and then she gasped in surprise as, in a second, Dean's body jerked with a grunt, his eyes slid closed, and his body started to slump. A flash of pain across her vision, and everything was black before she even heard Dean's body hit the snowy pavement.

**6:54 PM**

Sam glanced at the clock again. It had been almost twenty minutes after Dean and Nicole's fifteen minute deadline, and there was no sign of them. He was nervous, worried, and tapping his hands uneasily against the steering wheel. He was cold, too, the car having been off for nearly an hour and it being about fifteen degrees outside. His breath puffed out in a grey cloud, and he peered into the darkness around the building again. Were those headlights, from behind one of the stores? Sure enough, he watched a bulky truck drive out from behind the strip-mall and start past him on the road. Sam eyed the dark bulges in the back of the truck, and had a sudden thought of panic. He bolted away from the car, around the building he had seen his brother and Nicole pass. There he saw footsteps, two sets, until they were stopped by a large disturbance in the inches of white. It looked like something had either moved a lot, or fallen and then been drug several feet. Upon a closer look, he saw that it was two somethings that had been drug. Two bodies. After a few feet the dragging impressions stopped, and two distinct sets of shoes walked away. But neither were Dean or Nicole, they were the wrong sizes. Sam stared, disbelieving, at the desolate scene before him. And in less than a second, he had taken off back to the Impala, hoping to desperately follow the truck.


	6. A Caged Game

**Somewhere outside Casper**

**9:21 PM**

_Dark again. Running again. There was less time, and the something she searched for was further away than before. The something behind her was closer. The nearly black trees were close and she could smell something heavy and wet - rain. The air itself was heavy, humid but cold. She'd only been running a couple seconds and a boulder, hidden in the darkness, tripped her. When she fell, she didn't hit wood and grass and leaves. She plunged into water, unable to catch herself because it was too dark to see. The water was everywhere and it froze her blood, numbed her senses. Flashes of memory came across her vision - her mom, her dad, friends from when she was in school, an old dog they once had, then a restaurant, two men, a black car, snow, cold, a man, darkness and water again. She struggled to the surface, unable to find it in the darkness. And then a white light pierced the black water. Her limbs flailed and she desperately fought towards the light. She managed to break the surface, gasping in icy air, before the light went out and she was under again. Now her mind only showed her the black car, the two men again, a hotel, the car, and then the light was back! She struggled towards it, her body needing oxygen, and she reached out to touch the light-_

Her dark blue eyes flew open as her body jerked in alarm at being woken up. Nicole sat up quickly and hissed as her head throbbed painfully. She touched the side of her skull, the side that ached like an avalanche, and closed her eyes in dismay. Even when she was forced into unconsciousness, the nightmares were still there. Her eyes opened at the thought - forced into unconsciousness. Shit, what had happened? Nicole stared around her, only then noticing the dark, dirty surroundings. She was in some building. It looked like a basement, with the cracking, dirty cement walls, ceiling and dirt floor, and the lack of windows. One door only, and it was just as dirty, just as cracked. The room was fairly bare, just a couple shelves with pointless items and and some flour sacks on the floor with god-knows-what inside. She was in a sort of cage; it was made of chain-link fence that was about three feet high, and a solid sheet of metal attached on top and bottom. There were several locks on the door-like part of the cage, and thick locks at that. Nicole heard a strange, faint crackling sound and held her breath to find the source. It was coming from each of the four corners of the cage. Nicole slowly crawled closer to a corner, and looked closely. She saw nothing, but could feel the electricity of something running along the edges of the metal. She leaned back cautiously. Nicole then noticed another cage, identical to hers, sitting a couple feet away. With someone inside.

"Dean?" She whispered, and got no reply. "Dean." She said louder, assuming no one could hear them if they were indeed in a basement. Still no movement. "Dean!"

The collapsed figure jerked awake, eyelids flying open in surprise. He was still for less than a second before he scrambled into a sitting position, army-green eyes running over every inch of the entire room. He focused on Nicole after a few seconds, his entire body rigid. "Are you okay?"

Nicole shrugged. "Fine, for a person trapped in a cage after being whacked over the head."

Dean's mouth curled up slightly. "No other injuries though?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Good." He pressed his hands against the chain-link. "Where the hell are we?"

"I have no idea." Nicole looked around the room again, then at the cage surrounding her. "Don't touch the corners."

"Why?"

"They're electrocuted somehow."

"Just the corners?"

"Well you haven't gotten zapped yet, have you?"

Dean stopped holding onto the chain-link. "Guess not." He looked up at the sheet metal above him, then placed his large hands against it and pushed, teeth clenched. He strained against the metal, groaning and squeezing his eyes shut, pressing even with his shoulders. Nothing.

"I don't think that's gonna work, Dean." Nicole finally commented, after having watched him struggle for nearly five straight minutes.

He stopped, panting, and pushed against the chain-link. It was equally sturdy, especially for chain-link fencing. With an aggravated sigh, Dean then slipped a hand through a hole in the cage, and tried to break through the locks. He got a paperclip out of his pocket, and worked away at every lock. Nicole leaned back on her hands, watching with boredom as he failed to get anywhere, even thirty minutes later.

Finally, Nicole sighed. "I don't think we're getting out of here that easy, Dean."

"I'm getting there." He continued to focus on the lock at hand.

"You've been 'getting there' for half an hour. Give it up." He ignored her. "Dean, _give it up_."

The struggling man dropped his mangled paperclip and turned to Nicole, green eyes hard. "We have to get out of here eventually, and somehow, I don't think our friends that locked us in here will let us out willingly. Now this is all I've got, unless you have a better idea?"

"I don't, but-"

"So this is what we're doing." He searched around the dirt outside his cage. "Now where's the fucking paperclip.."

"But," Nicole continued. "Maybe we can think this through."

"Think this through?"

"Yeah. You know, plan, for when our captors - or whatever - decide to come check up on us."

Dean glanced at the door. "We need to figure out what the hell got us, first of all."

"You mean who."

"What?"

"You said 'what the hell got us'. You mean 'who the hell got us'."

Dean stared at her, then looked away uneasily and didn't answer. Instead, he rattled the side of the cage, his handsome features focused. "So you haven't seen anything?"

"No, nothing. I woke up and then woke you up." She shrugged. "I thought you might know what the hell had happened."

"I remember talking to you, and then everything goes black." Nicole nodded in agreement and Dean continued to survey the room. He laughed shortly, humorlessly. "Sam's gonna flip."

"I think your brother is the least of our concerns right now. We need to try-"

"He might be our only chance of getting out of here." Dean reminded her.

"No offense to him or anything, but do you honestly think just your brother will be able to - first off - find us, and then get us out of here?" Nicole raised an eyebrow.

He just smiled slightly, eyeing one of the corners to his cage. "You'd be surprised."

"Huh." Nicole grunted and paused for a moment before looking at Dean again. "Speaking of brothers...do you think this is what happened to Thomas? Do you think he's here?"

Dean stared back to her for a long moment, gorgeous eyes intense. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Is that a good maybe, or not?"

He shrugged, looking away. "It's nothing."

"So you don't think this is what happened to him?"

"I honestly can't say, Nicole. It's possible." He noticed the desperation traced across her features, realized that this was all she had to go on, and she needed it. He sighed softly. "Then again, we were following a guy that you've seen several times - more importantly, the morning your brother disappeared - and then got whacked. So it might have been him, and he might have done the same to Thomas. But when you went outside to look for Thomas, did you see any..sign of sorts? Like a disturbance in the snow maybe?"

Nicole stared at the dirt in front of her, thinking hard. "I don't remember...maybe..."

"Maybe?"

She was still thinking, trying to remember. "There was one point..it was around the corner from the hotel...I don't know if it's anything, but there was a part that looked like someone had been clearing away the snow, brushing it in different directions and such..." Her blue eyes raised to meet his soft green gaze. "I don't know if it's anything though."

Dean nodded slowly, thinking as well. "It might be. It's all we've got, at least."

"Yeah." Nicole sighed, and then after a moment of silence, started patting herself.

"What are you doing?" Dean glanced at her curiously.

"Damn. They got my cell phone."

"Ya think?"

She glared, but his attention was already turned elsewhere. "How the hell do you have a paperclip, if I've got absolutely nothing? I don't think there's even any freakin' lint."

"Maybe they liked touching you more."

"Fuck you." Nicole growled, her glare even stronger now, but Dean still wasn't even looking within a five foot diameter of her. And then they heard the screams.

Dean's head snapped up, towards the door, and Nicole's blood ran cold. Screaming and yelling, stuttering until it was choked off. The cries were laced with fear and loaded with pain, raising goosebumps on even Dean's arms. And in less than four seconds, they were gone. The silence was just as chilling. Nicole turned slowly to look at Dean, her blue eyes wide and scared. The returning green gaze was steady, calculating.

"D-Dean...Dean, what was that?" Nicole's voice was just a whisper.

"I..uh, I don't know." He fought to keep his voice steady.

"They weren't..weren't human, right?" The older man didn't answer, avoiding her frightened gaze. "Right?"

Then the doorknob twisted, and the cracked door opened.

**7:45 PM**

He'd had difficulty following the truck, considering the late start he'd gotten after it. Luckily the truck's backlights stood out in the darkness, reflecting off the surrounding snow. Sam had trailed carefully for nearly an hour, but it seemed much longer. He'd kept his own lights off, a dangerous thing on the snowy roads, but managed to keep the truck in his sights. He hoped that he was right about this, and something else hadn't happened to Dean and Nicole. He hoped he wasn't going the wrong direction. But he knew enough to trust his instincts anymore, and wasn't disappointed. The truck led him down several back roads and further away from any civilization, until it pulled up to a solitary house, one with a couple barn-looking buildings nearby. Sam stopped the Impala several yards away, behind a few trees, and watched.

The driver stopped the truck, and then he and a passenger exited the vehicle. They went around to the bed of the truck and pulled down the tailgate, then each grabbed one dark package and let them fall to the ground, before dragging them out of Sam's sight. Even in the darkness and with the bodies being covered, Sam knew it was his brother and Nicole. But he couldn't see where the two strangers took them, and he turned back to the car, impatient. He didn't know what these people were, possessed or what, but he wasn't willing to wait and see. He opened the car's trunk, and then the top to the arsenal, his eyes grazing over each available weapon. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed a wicked looking blade, small .45, and rock salt-filled shotgun - just in case. Sam shut the arsenal and trunk in satisfaction, and glanced back over at the house when he heard a truck start. One of the men had started it again, but was just pulling around to the back of the house. There appeared to be only a single light on in the large house, and someone inside. Sam took a breath and a single step, before the headache hit him.

_Dark..trees....grass...snow....feet, running, pounding...._Sam gasped for a breath as his entire skull ached, his vision not where it should be. _Chasing..being chased...running, faster, faster, not fast enough...falling, hitting a rock and pain...._He fell to his knees, dropping the shotgun in hand and holding his head instead. _A thin, blonde boy - barely over twenty years old - was running, his long legs carrying him easily over stick and brambles...then he fell and hit a boulder, hurting his foot...he kept trying to run though, out of breath and terrified...but then he fell again, cutting himself, and now he had been caught...two men, just men, with guns and knives...they slowed when they saw the boy had fallen, and smiled...the one with the knife came closer...they were not going to do this quickly or painlessly....they wanted as much joy to come out of it all as possible...and then the scream- _everything slammed back into the present, nearly giving Sam whiplash. He gasped again as the aching resided, and then stared at the dark trees, reviewing what he'd just seen. Understanding, he jumped to his feet, grabbing the weapons again, hands shaking.

He'd just seen humans hunt Nicole's brother like a game.


	7. Goodnight, Sleep With Fright

**_In this chapter and the one previous one, the times you see at the beginning of different sections should help clear up any confusion there might be :)_**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**9:27 PM**

Nicole felt her heart pause as the door opened slowly, and there were voices on the other side. Then, when it had opened nearly six inches, it paused as the voices continued to argue about something and then - it shut. Her body stayed still, waiting for it to open again and the person to enter. Nothing happened, and the voices faded away. She let her breath go, and looked over at the prisoner in the other cage. He was staring at the closed door.

"Hey!" He shouted, making her jump. "Hey, you dumb shits, get your asses back here!! Where do you think you're going?! Come on, come get us!" He shook the chain link to enhance his shouting, features hard. "Let us see your fucking faces!! You hear?! Get the fuck back here!!" Dean continued to yell and swear, getting no response from anywhere, until his elbow clipped one of the charged corners. "Son of a _bitch_!" He yelped and jerked back from the cage walls.

Nicole couldn't help but find it all slightly amusing. "So it hurts, eh?"

He shot her a look. "Just surprised me. But it sure as hell doesn't tickle."

"Uh huh." She smirked, then shook her head. "What's with the yelling?"

"I want to see what the hell we're dealing with."

"Just people, Dean." She sighed. He didn't answer, and she glanced at him tiredly. "Seriously, what else?"

His green gaze was uncomfortable, flicking to her then to watch the door and walls. "There are things."

"Oh yeah, boogeymen and all that shit?"

"We actually have yet to find one of those.."

"One of what?"

"A Boogeyman."

"Oh my fucking God, Dean." Nicole groaned and laid back in the dirt.

She heard his body shift and he changed position to face her better. "Listen, Nicole, I just might need to warn you."

"Warn me?" She closed her eyes, sure he was crazier than she'd thought in the beginning.

"Because I don't know what we're dealing with, like I said. Listen, Sam and I...we're Hunters."

"Yeah, so is my step-dad."

"No, no we don't hunt animals. Uh, we hunt..well, supernatural creatures." Her reply was a short laugh. "I'm serious, Nicole. This is no joke. I've hunted demons and skinwalkers and werewolves and god-knows-what-else. Even a possessed scarecrow, actually. I know it all sounds crazy, but I'm serious. Hunting those things, it's what Sam and I do."

Nicole sat up again, eyeing him quizically. "You're honestly serious about this?" He nodded, green eyes intense. "So you get rid of all the Frankensteins and Dracula's in the world?"

"In a manner, yeah."

She raised an eyebrow. "And you expect me to believe you?"

"You have to."

"Do I?"

"Yes. In case whatever has us isn't human."

"But they are, Dean. You saw that guy at the bar."

"Trust me, nearly every supernatural thing we've hunted looks human on the outside."

"I don't know Dean. Sounds crazy to me."

His short laugh was humorless. "Yeah, well, it sounds crazy to everyone."

"I wonder why."

Now he was aggravated, sighing roughly and shaking his head. "Fine. Probably no use in telling you anyway, but I thought a little heads-up might be a nice thing to do. Guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, seems so." Nicole snapped back, and now the olive-colored eyes were dark, angry.

"I'm going to sleep."

"Sleep?"

"Yeah. You might want to try it sometime." He laid down on his side, back to her.

Nicole glanced around at the dingy room and then back to Dean's body. She sighed and laid down uncomfortably herself, wincing at the cold metal. After a moment of extreme awkwardness, she sat up and leaned against the chain link. Slightly more comfortable, she sighed again and closed her eyes. Sleep probably wouldn't come, and wouldn't be a good thing at that, but she might need it for whatever was going to happen tomorrow. Because when you're kidnapped, you aren't just left to sit on your own. But the dark, cold, dirty room was frightening, the screams from before still echoing in her head. All she could see when she closed her eyes was Thomas, and was nearly shaking with the fear of what had happened to him. She just needed something to help her calm down.

"Good-..goodnight..Dean." She murmured quietly, uncomfortable with the pathetic communication.

She received no reply for several long seconds, and was even more frightened. Until then, out of the darkness, came a soft, deep voice, "Night, Nicole."

**1:43 AM**

_It was dark, but not cold. Warm for once, very warm. Then she realized the warmth wasn't in the air or the room, but coming from something. It was coming from someone close to her..someone touching her...and she was on something soft. A bed, maybe. The warmth was above her, and she could feel skin on skin, the contact electrifying. And then her lips touched warmth, soft warmth, and warm, rough fingers grazed through her hair. The warmth left her mouth and hot breath was a breeze on her cheek, then her neck. Her hands ran over smooth skin, also warm, her palms curving with muscular shoulders and the around a neck, soft hair brushing her fingertips. She was lifted up by strong arms and hands, and felt her body sigh. A voice murmured in her ear, but she couldn't understand, and opened her eyes in question. Her gaze clashed into warm green eyes, and then she was falling. Into the water again, and it was freezing far worse than she'd ever felt. Her breath was already gone, and it was impossible to get it back. Where had the light gone? It was supposed to be there...ice sunk through her skin and into her bones, turning her entire body numb. Her freezing heart strained for oxygen, for the key to keep living, but she couldn't find the surface. The water was too deep. Then something got her under the arms and was pulling, trying to get her out of the water. Warmth, it had a hold of her. Trying to save her-_

Nicole sat up with a gasp, the layer of sweat across her skin ice cold. Her heart was racing as she panted for breath, feeling as starved for it as she had been in her dream. Her head pounded, and the dark room was unfamiliar, frightening.

"Hey," She jumped at the unexpected voice. "Are you okay?"

It was just Dean. "F-fine." She stuttered, and then remembered the first part of her dream. He thankfully couldn't see her blush, the lighting was too poor.

"Nightmare?"

"It was nothing."

"Seemed pretty bad."

"I'm fine, it was just a dream."

"You get them often?"

"Drop it, please."

"What are they about?"

"Dean. Shut up." Nicole ran a hand across her face, trying to keep her voice even.

"I just don't think it's a good thing if you've been having nightmares lately."

"They're nothing, okay?"

"Are they what keep you from sleeping?"

"Would you fucking drop it? Please?" She snapped at him, aggravated he'd seen a weakness in her.

"Calm down, just trying to figure out what's going on." Dean kept his voice even, controlled.

"It was just a nightmare."

"Okay, okay." He paused. "You're not gonna tell me what about?"

Nicole hesitated. "No."

"Alright."

"Why?"

"I just thought maybe talking about it would help."

"Just go back to sleep, Dean."

"Are you gonna go to sleep?"

She paused now. "I'm gonna try."

He laughed shortly, soft and reassuring. "Liar."

She couldn't help but smile to herself. "Go to sleep Dean, I'm fine."

He sighed and she could hear his weight adjusting to the hard metal floor. "Alright. 'Night, again."

The smile still faintly touched her lips. "G'night, Dean."

**9:26 PM**

The vision made Sam think. He didn't run right towards the house, ready to kill whatever was in there. They were just humans, and he didn't want to kill them, didn't want to have their blood on his name. Demons and un-Godly creatures of all sorts were no problem, but these were just humans. Sure they were vile and savage murderers, but the police were supposed to take care of out-of-line-humans. Not him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes in aggravation, sitting in the cold car and watching the dark house. Nothing was moving, not even a mouse...Sam smiled slightly, entertaining himself for a couple seconds. Finally, the porch light to the house turned on, and two men exited. The two men from his vision. Sam sat up straighter, peering through the dark trees intently, and watched as they walked towards one of the decaying barns. One of the men went in, while the other went to the truck and brought out a couple items from it. The man who had gone in the barn came back out, and then the two walked back into their house.

Sam's eyebrows furrowed when he saw a person exit the barn. The figure was male, blonde, and looked nervous. Thomas, it had to be him. The thin boy crept out from the door cautiously, and then stood in the bare yard for a moment. Realizing there was no one around, he began to run towards the trees. Towards Sam. Thomas had just barely hit the edge of the dark woods and Sam saw the men from before exit their house again, and in the light from the porch, he could see what items they had taken from their truck. Guns and knives. The men saw Thomas before he entered the trees, and took off after him with a couple sick cheers. The boy panicked when he heard them, and ran faster, closer to Sam. Then, just like the younger Winchester had seen, Thomas tripped and fell. He yelped as his foot twisted, but was soon back up and running a slightly different direction now, towards the side of Sam. The men were closer, laughing and cheering, until Thomas slipped again. He cried out in pain again, but the men were too close.

Sam watched in horror, straining to keep silent and refrain from running out there himself, as the savage hunters crept closer to the terrified boy. The one with the rifle dropped it, and pulled out a blade instead. They wanted the joy of the boy's pain, hearing him scream. Sam turned away, gagging, as laughter mixed with slicing flesh, and screams tore through it all. The hoarse shrieks and male-screams made Sam's body shake and he glanced over once, only to see massacred red skin and have to turn away again, his hardened stomach heaving. He held it in until the screaming and inhumane chuckling stopped, and he heard sounds of the men dragging away Nicole's brother's body. Once the sounds were far away enough, Sam shoved open the car door and choked his stomach contents out onto the snowy ground, the hot acidy taste in his mouth assuring him all that he'd seen was real. Sick and unnatural, but real.

He ran a hand through his hair, then stood shakily, breathing in the cold night air. After a moments hesitation, Sam took a few steps towards where the slaughter had just happened, just to see the aftermath. It took only a couple strides and he was there, the scene had been so close. The spot where Thomas had fallen was obvious - the ground was soaked a dark color, the snow surrounding spattered with red. Sam swallowed, sickened by the knowledge alone that he would have to tell what he'd seen. He'd have to tell Dean, and probably Nicole. Chances were that, where ever they were, they had heard the screams anyway. Which brought up another question - where were his brother and Nicole? Even more to the point, were they still alive? And if so, how long until they became a game as well? As if on cue, the door to the house opened again and the two hunters exited. Sam's breath caught as they strode towards the other barn and only one went inside, the other standing by the door and looking in. After a couple of seconds, the man by the door yelled something into the barn. He yelled again, sounding like he was arguing with someone, and then backed away as the first man came back outside. They spoke, then turned and went back into the house, shutting off the porch light behind them.

The young man held his breath, waiting for another victim to crawl out of the barn, towards their supposed freedom. Nothing happened. The men didn't come back out of their house, the lights stayed off, and no one came out of the barn. Maybe there wasn't even anyone in there. Sam inched towards the barn, curious, hoping to find his brother. He was almost at the edge of the cluster of trees when he stopped, realizing the risk of even going near the building. Most obviously was the fact that the house and two barns were in a complete clearing from any trees, and so if he approached the barn, all one would have to do is glance outside to see him. From there it would be game over. And he didn't know what was in that barn, whether it was more captured people, animals, or a bunch of weapons. Possibly even more demented hunters. Sam realized then that he had no idea how many people lived in that house and were willing to kill a human for fun. He'd only seen the two so far, but that didn't mean there wasn't more. Seeing how unprepared and irrational he was being, Sam backed up towards the Impala to think. To plan.


	8. Everything Hurts

**5:44 AM**

Nicole didn't sleep. Hours later, and her eyes were still open when Dean's finally re-opened. She watched him sit up and stretch, a few limbs cracking audibly. "Did you sleep well?"

He looked over at her voice and his pouty lips turned up slightly in a smile. "Well enough. I'm going to assume you didn't sleep at all."

She shrugged, looking away.

A deep sigh, then, "Is it because of the nightmares?" Dean was staring at her through the gaps in the chain-link, strong fingers curled around the metal. "The nightmares are why you don't sleep?"

"I don't sleep because it's a waste of valuable time." Nicole replied simply, face still turned away.

"Well it's also necessary. You need sleep."

"It's nothing."

"How many hours have you slept since your brother disappeared? Hm?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do. How many?"

She shrugged a shoulder, voice quiet. "Seven, eight maybe. Who cares."

"Eight hours in the past, what, five days?" He raised his expressive brows. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Nicole's answer was a short laugh, followed by a sigh.

Dean grunted in reply, and let go of the metal walls to run his hands over his face in weariness. Nicole turned her blue gaze to him, watching his stressed movements carefully. She noticed the way his brown hair stuck up in spots from sleep, and how the slight stubble once on his cheeks had turned into decent scruff. His clothes were dirty and torn in a couple places, with a couple spots of dark, dried blood visible on the back of the collar. A careful look closer and she could see the dark spot on the back of his head where the drops of blood originated from. Seeing how rugged and weary the man was, Nicole wondered how she looked in comparison. Possibly worse.

They both jumped when the knob on the door to their room twisted, and the heavy cement groaned as it was shoved open. Dean inched to the back of his cage, hands itching to be pushing Nicole behind him, shielding her just in case. She backed away from the intruders as well, fingers latched tightly to the steel walls. Two figures had walked in, neither of their faces visible in the large coats and layers of warm clothing they wore. One pulled a ring of keys from it's pocket, starting towards Dean's cage, while the other held two small boxes. The first figure unlocked one of the several locks on Dean's cage, and pulled back the chain link until there was about a four inch gap. The figure then took one of the small boxes from the other, and shoved it into the cage. Dean jumped, backing further into the metal, as the box slid towards him. The same process was repeated to Nicole, but when the cage was entirely re-locked, she pressed against the front of the chain-link.

"Is my brother here? Thomas? Is he here?" She earnestly asked the kidnappers her questions, no longer able to wait. The man with the keys glanced at her, and then pulled back the hood on his coat. "You! You were at the hotel, you took him didn't you? Didn't you?!" She recognized the man from the bar, the man she and Dean had followed, and shrieked her accusations.

The man stared, a slight amused smirk on his face. "I don't know what you're yellin' about, bitch."

"You fucking liar, yes you do! Thin, blonde, blue eyes - my brother! You took him! Where is he?! Where's Tommy?!"

The man looked at his friend and then grinned, chuckling. "Oh, that one?" He leaned closer to Nicole, brown eyes glittering. "He was fun. Good runner. But not good enough - which you of course know."

Nicole stared in confusion, fearing what was going to be said and her breath aleady hard to grasp. "What..what are you talking about?"

"You heard the screams last night girlie, you tell me." The man chuckled again as he stood up straight, and followed his friend back towards the door, just as Nicole started to lose it.

"No." The word was just a whisper, yet her voice still managed to crack. "No." There was more force behind the statement now, as her vision burned and blurred. "No!! No no no! You bastards!! You fucking bastards, you're lying!!! NO!! It wasn't him! It wasn't Thomas, he's not!! He's not dead!!! NO!! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!" She screamed and sobbed, the tears rushing hot down her cheeks, spilling into her mouth until her words spat them back out. "Not Tommy!! Not Tommy! You sick bastards, no!! No you're wrong!! All wrong!! He's not fucking dead! I'm looking for him, he can't be dead!! He can't! He's not!!" She screamed and kept screaming, shaking and pounding on the chain-link, receiving only a very unsatisfying rattle.

"Nicole-" Dean started, but her sobs and random yells wouldn't cease, no matter how raw her voice became.

"You fuckers, he's not dead!! Not Tommy! Not when I'm here for him!!" She punched uselessly at the chain, her knuckles scraping open as she continued to scream, the words piercing Dean's mind. "You're all fucking lying!! This didn't happen!! None of this! Thomas is still alive!! He is! And I'm going to..going to save him.." Her body sagged against the cage, and then her crying out wasn't just in emotional pain, as her shoulder slipped into a corner. The shocks burned and stung, raising more tears and more pain and more anger, but she didn't move. She deserved it. Thomas was dead, she had heard him die, she had failed; she deserved to die herself. "No..not him...not dead..." She wimpered through the tears that still flooded down her face, eyes closed as her forehead pressed against the chain-link.

"Nicole, move away from the corner." Dean's deep voice broke her haze of pain. She didn't answer, and didn't move. "Nicole, come on. You're just hurting yourself." Still she paid him no attention. "Please." The word was a whisper, a pleading whisper of dark velvet. She shifted her body barely an inch, but enough to separate herself from the electricity. Her tears still fell and she still whimpered and whispered her denial, her guilt and pain. Her shoulder burned now, and she tried to focus on the physical pain as opposed to the emotional. Something on the skin was so much easier to fix. So she let the flames of the deep burn lick over her shoulder and arm, wishing they would devour her whole.

"Hey..Nicole.." The baritone voice slipped into her wall of fiery pain, but she tried to shut it out. Dean watched painfully as Nicole stayed curled into her little ball, one hand grasping the metal links of the wall and the other curled around her legs, which were pulled tightly to her chest. Her dark hair shielded her face entirely, falling over her shoulders and hiding the burn he knew was there. His soft green eyes watched her body shake continually, and he heard the ragged breathing that indicated she was still crying. His stone-like heart was straining, and he swallowed, giving in to it.

Dean slipped a large hand through one of the gaps in the chain, and stretched his arm towards Nicole and her imprisonment. His fingers grasped the chain-link to her cage, and held on, staring apologetically with pained eyes she couldn't see. A small stretch more, and his fingers grazed her hair. She shivered, and his touch trailed to her arm. Nicole refrained from his touch as much as she could, but she needed the warmth, the comfort. A moment later, her body adjusted again so she was leaning against the cage wall, Dean's fingers softly traveling across her arm in reassurance, her face still hidden. The contact was slightly awkward for him, as was the sensation of comforting anyone. But the girl needed it, she needed it right now more than anyone he'd known. He understood her pain, and almost felt it too. With a gentle sigh, he ran his fingertips lightly through her soft hair.

"I know it hurts."

**6:26 AM**

He had been staring at the dark, run-down house for far too long. He had more patience than his brother, easily, but this was testing it. All he'd seen was the two men from the night before going into one of the barns again, one of them carrying something small, and then a couple minutes later they came back out empty handed. He heard faint cries as well, and even though they were muffled, goosebumps raised on his arms. Dean and Nicole were in there. And that had to be Nicole. Sam's fingers twitched, his entire body was crackling with intensity as he restrained himself until the men went inside. They took their time though, going over to their truck and messing with something in the bed of it. Then they pulled out a few guns, and one man took them inside. The other stayed outside though, and opened the tailgate on the rusted truck. Sam covered his mouth, the mutilated body of Nicole's brother too visible. He had seen some pretty bad stuff, yeah. Hideous monsters, and the disasters they could leave behind, but seeing a person like this, and knowing that just humans had done it..he opened up the car door to lean out and vomit again. He tried to do it quietly, the image of Thomas' bloody, tattered body encouraging more of the acidy-nothing in his gut to spill.

After a few minutes he stopped, breathing heavily. Instinctively, Sam grabbed a handful of snow and used it to clean out his mouth. The bitter taste remained still. Looking up again, he was relieved to see the tailgate had been shut, Thomas' body no longer visible. The man was coming out of the other barn, the one that didn't have Dean, and was carrying a bag of what looked like flour or something. A woman came out on the porch, and she looked as rugged and dirty as the men. She yelled at the man and he shouted in reply, then carried his bag into the house, following her. One.....two.....three.....four.....five. He jumped out of the car and got into the arsenal in seconds, hands automatically tracing over all the weapons, picking more precisely what he wanted this time. Shot gun(with actual iron rounds, not rock salt), small knife, and two .45s - one for him, and for Dean.

Sam stuck one of the hand-guns in the back of his pants and the other inside his jacket, holding onto the knife and shot gun. He shut the trunk and stared at the house for a few seconds, taking off the safety on the gun in his palm. He took a deep breath, then let it out smoothly. His long legs carried him quickly through the trees as he strode sideways from his car, going through the small forest rather than directly towards the civilization. Once he considered himself a fair distance away - nearly a hundred yards - Sam fired once at a tree, the blast echoing in the snowy silence around him. He yelled loudly, his voice chasing the gun's ring. Almost imediately afterwards, he could hear shouts and arguing coming from the house, and then the men burst out of the building, each already with a rifle in hand. Sam ran quickly and quietly back to the car, careful not to leave prints in the snow. Once he neared the Impala, he turned to rush to the barn closest to him; the dark building that had to have his brother and Nicole inside.


	9. Rescue Misson

**6:32 AM**

_Submerged in the icy water, hard to breathe..impossible to see...she struggled and tried to swim, but her body was frozen, hard to move. The light flashed and she grasped at it, breaking the surface for a second. Cold air hit her and then the light went out and she was in a freezing hell again. She screamed at the water and at the darkness, pleading for anything to let her out. Then the warmth was there, trying to pull her up, and save her. She grabbed at it, gasping when she broke the surface again. But something else grabbed her, then. She opened her eyes and screamed again, as the hands went around her neck and shoved her under once more. The strong grip around her throat choked off her air and contained her beneath the water, only to tear her from it after several seconds, and stare at her. She sobbed, the cold water on her skin mixing with the tears, as her little brother accused her with his dark blue eyes. He was blaming her, because it was her fault. He was making her see that she deserved this. And then she was plunged under the water again, choking on it all as the hands around her neck continued to hold tight. Her body was strained, her heart about to burst and her mind blurring at the edges, when the warmth grasped at her again. She could feel the brush of fingertips on her shoulder, desperately trying to reach out and save her. To save her from the water and from her brother, and the darkness-_

Something caused Nicole to jump from sleep, bumping against the chain-link cage walls. She looked up through dark bangs that had fallen into her eyes, and saw the man near her watching the door, his arm stretched across the small space between them and fingers latched onto the metal of her cage. "What's happening?" She asked, voice thick and sore with screaming, crying and exhausted sleep.

"Gunshot."

The one word chilled her and she swallowed, her throat burning. "What do you think it's for?"

"I don't know." The green gaze stared at the door for a moment more, before turning to her, softening. "How are you holding up?"

She sighed shakily. "My throat hurts."

His lips turned up in a gentle smile as he pulled his hand back into his own cage. "I would surprised if it didn't." Nicole didn't answer, eyes to the floor and a couple silent tears already sliding down her cheeks. "Nicole, I'm so sorry. I..I can't imagine...I'm so sorry." Dean's voice was low and soft, trying to comfort her. Almost working.

"It's..it's not your fault..Dean.." Her voice was a whisper, scratchy from the screaming before.

"I just wish-" He was interrupted by a bang on their door, and both he and Nicole jumped to the back of their cages. His jade-eyes were wide, waiting, until another bang burst the door open. "Sam?"

"Dean!" The taller man rushed towards his brother's cage, tugging at the front.

Dean couldn't help but smile. "It's about fucking time."

"I had to make sure those people wouldn't get in the way." Sam tugged harder at the door, then eyed the locks.

"No use, man. I tried to pick 'em as soon as we got here. Some crazy-ass locks, for sure."

"Well are there keys?"

"With one of the guys."

"Damnit." Sam swore quietly and again observed the locks. "Are you sure they can't be picked?"

"Well I sure couldn't get 'em."

He nodded. "Good point." Instead, Sam stood up and stepped back, closing an eye to aim the shotgun at the cage door. Dean backed up and the gun fired, louder than a crack of thunder would have been in the room. Sam nudged the lock he had shot at, and huffed when he saw how little damage had been done. "These are some seriously thick locks."

"Tell me about it."

"What is that?" Sam was distracted by the small box in his brother's cage, the box one of the men had tossed in.

"Uh.." Dean carefully picked it up, and opened one end, looking in and raising his eyebrows. "A sandwich. Food."

"They fed you?"

"I don't know, man."

"Okay, so keys."

"On the guy."

"Which one?"

"The one from the bar." Nicole spoke up now, face close to the chain.

Sam looked over at her, and his puppy-like features grew concerned. "Are you okay?"

She just stared at him, blue eyes hollow.

"We found out about Thomas." Dean spoke for her, uncomfortably.

"Oh. Right."

"You knew?"

Sam looked back at his brother, and swallowed. "Y-Yeah. I saw."

"You _saw_?!" Nicole yelped. "You _saw_ those fucking monsters kill Thomas and did what - nothing?!"

"Nicole, I wanted to but-"

"There isn't a 'but' Sam! My brother is dead!" Her voice was raising in horror, higher and louder. "I let him die! And you could have done something, but you just watched?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Nicole." Dean interrupted firmly, trying to calm her down.

"No, no don't even give me any 'it'll be okay' shit! Tommy's dead you guys, and I let it happen. What can be okay?" She glared at Sam again. "And you didn't even try to stop it, did you?"

"Nicole, if I had gone out there I'd be dead too."

"How can you know that? How many of them were there?!"

"Two." He answered quietly.

"Two? Just _two_? Fuck Sam, I could have taken two!"

"We don't know how many more are in that house! It's not like I wanted him to die, Nicole! Dean and I are in this just as much as you are! But if I had killed those men, more could have just come out and killed both me and Thomas. Then you'd be stuck in here, and die as well!" The young man's voice gained power and demanded she listen. "Is that what you want - all of us to die?"

Nicole dropped his fiery gaze and answered quietly, emptied of anger at him. "I want Thomas to be alive."

Sam softened, regretting his loss of temper already. "I know. But right now, we just have to get you guys out of here."

Dean sighed. "Then let's go already."

Sam ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair and sighed, then jumped when a gun cocked behind him. He turned slowly, and saw the very man the trio had been speaking about aiming his rifle at him.

"Your friends ain't goin' nowhere, little bastard. Don't think you are either."

Sam remained calm, meeting the man's gaze.

"Now drop the gun. Now."

"Alright." Sam extended one arm from him, and carefully bent down to lower the shotgun to the floor. And then in a flash, he reached the other hand behind him and slipped out the hidden .45, pulling around and firing once, twice, until the man dropped completely. Sam stared for a moment, then knelt beside the body, hands searching through pockets.

"Nice shot, little bro." Dean approved, smirking.

"Thanks." Sam searched a moment more, then pulled out the ring of jingling keys. "I've got the keys."

"Well hurry, cause I can hear the guy's friend coming down here."

Sam glanced up, and tossed the keys towards Dean. "You're gonna have to help yourself here." He jumped to his feet when Dean reached through his cage and grabbed the keys, getting to work on the locks, as at the same time the other hunter entered the room. Both free men paused for a second, then lunged at each other. Sam landed a punch to the man's jaw, and then in his chest. The man was knocked back, but swiped at Sam with a small knife in his hand. The blade skimmed across the younger man's jaw, drawing a small line of red, but Sam paid no attention and punched the man again in the jaw. He grabbed the man's shoulders and pulled him down, to ram his knee up into his stomach. Then he shoved the murderer away, into the wall, and quickly snatched up the shotgun. One quick jab into the back of the man's skull, and Sam's attacker was out.

Sam relaxed his muscles and turned towards his brother again. Dean was out of his own cage and nearly done with Nicole's. "Alright. We're nearly clear."

"Nearly?" Dean glanced up for barely a second.

"There's a woman in the house, I saw her earlier. There might be someone else as well." He bent down to pick up his weapons. "Anyone there is bound to have heard the gun shots though."

Dean nodded. "Hurry up. Got it. I'm almost done." A second more and a sliver of his tounge slipped out between his lips as he twisted the key in the last lock. It clicked open and he tore it off, before ripping open the cage door. "Here, here, I gotcha." He reached in and gently slipped his arms under Nicole's, helping her out of the cage.

"I'm alright Dean." She insisted once out of the cage, and pushed him away when he tried to help her stand up. She stood fine, and looked at Sam. "So what's the way out of here?"

"Here." Sam tossed Dean the .45 from inside his jacket, then gestured out the door, and his brother and Nicole followed him up the stairs to the main floor of the barn, then out into the yard. "I've got the Impala behind some trees back here." They all started running in the direction he gestured, when gun shots were heard. Sam glanced behind them and swore. He turned for a moment and fired off a couple rounds at the two figures standing on front porch of the house. They ducked, and one started towards the truck. Sam fired once more, then turned back to Dean and Nicole. They kept running, Sam trying to urge the other two to move faster. Another couple gun shots, and then Nicole hit the ground with a yelp. Dean skid to a halt, turning back and dropping down beside her.

"Come on!" Sam yelled, pleading for his brother to get Nicole to her feet faster as the woman with the gun aimed again.


	10. Safe Zone

Dean had his arms around Nicole, and lifted her up to stand. She tried to take a step though and lurched with a yelp. "Where'd you get hit?"

"My leg. It didn't hit it, just-ah!" She clenched her teeth again when she tried to put weight on it. Shots fired behind them, and Dean ducked when he felt bullets fly by him, swearing quietly.

"Stay down." He lowered Nicole back to the ground, then stood straight and aimed with one eye at the front of the house. He fired several rounds rapidly, until the woman sagged, and dropped. He waited a second, but she didn't get up. Satisfied, Dean pulled one of Nicole's arms around his shoulders and lifted her up once more.

"Dean!" Sam came running over to them. "There's another person, he's in the truck."

Dean glanced over at the old vehicle and saw a figure inside, right when the thing roared to life. "Shit." The truck started backing up, and pulled around to face them. "God damnit, he's gonna try to hit us." The older brother didn't hesitate as he fired another couple rounds at the truck, for distraction, and then scooped Nicole up into his arms, cradling her. "Can you keep him busy while I get her in the car?"

Sam nodded, cocking the shot gun as the truck started to move. He fired twice at the windshield, spiderwebs spattering across it until he heard a cry, and the truck lurched. It slowed, and turned to drive within feet of him. Sam ran with the vehicle, and wrenched open the door, grabbing ahold of the man inside and tearing him out. The man fell to the ground and rolled, tripping Sam and bringing him down as well. His long legs and arms got tangled up with the attacker, and he struck out blindly, hitting flesh only a few times. A fist connected with his own face and he grunted, before pushing himself away and jumping to his feet. The young man faced his attacker, pulling out the small knife he had with him. They circled each other for a moment, until Sam lunged at the man. The metal in his hand bit into flesh and the man yelped, before punching Sam in the side of head hard enough to daze him for a second. The attacker pulled Sam forward, slamming him into the stalled truck, and the young Winchester tasted the bitterness of blood in his mouth. He grunted as a fist collided with his ribs, then a foot, as he sunk closer to the ground.

Dean emerged from the trees just in time to see his little brother get thrown at the truck. His strong legs carried him quickly down to the fight, and he grasped the shoulder of the savage man just as Sam sunk completely to the ground. The older man swung hard, knocking the other backwards, and then pulled him forward to jam his knee into the stranger's stomach. Dean pulled the man up again, and punched him once, twice, three times, and the man sunk to the ground. Two kicks to the man's gut, and Dean was finally satisfied. He sighed and reached down to pull his younger brother back to his feet, brushing dirt off him.

"You alright?"

Sam coughed and nodded, a trickle of blood running down his chin. He straightened up, then turned with his brother as a voice came from behind them.

"Oh, come _on_!" Dean complained, seeing yet another crazy person coming out of the house. It was a young woman, and she looked frightened for a moment, before turning around and then coming back out with a gun in each hand. "Shit!" The older brother swore as they both jumped behind the tattered vehicle, gun shots pattering around them. Dean reached into his jacket and pulled out the .45 Sam had given him earlier. "Where's the shot gun?"

Sam looked around, and then spotted it a couple yards away. "There." He nodded towards it.

"Alright. Go on three." Sam nodded, watching his brother carefully. "One....two......three." Dean jumped up and fired repeatedly at the woman, as Sam scrambled out from behind their shield to grab the weapon. His hands closed over it and he jumped towards the truck as gun shots rang out towards him. He hit the ground with a roll, and landed next to Dean, panting.

"Got it."

Dean nodded. "Again, on three, you go up and I go over." Sam gripped the gun as his brother counted off again. "One...two....three." Dean rolled so that he was crouched just a couple inches from the truck, and fired several rounds at the woman on the porch. Sam jumped up and aimed, firing three times before he lowered himself a couple inches, just in case. His brother continued to fire, until his body jerked back as he cried out.

"Dean!"

"I'm fine, Sam!" Dean snapped, turning back to the porch and firing again. Sam stood straighter and took careful aim before pulling the trigger two more times, and satisfyingly dropping the woman. The air rang with the silence then, and Dean glanced up at his little brother, breathing heavily. Sam glanced down at him as well, and after a hesitant moment, they smiled. Sam reached down a hand and pulled Dean to his feet, looking around.

"Is that all of them?"

"God, I hope so. Over-populated bastards." Dean grumbled, already starting back to Nicole and the Impala, picking up Sam's dismissed .45 and knife along the way.

"Are you okay?" Sam saw the way his brother favored his left arm.

"Fine. Just got knicked, that's all."

"Should we get you to a hospital? Y'know, just in case-"

"No, no hospital. Just some simple patching up." The deep voice paused, then hesitantly continued. "Nicole might need a hospital though."

"How is she?"

"I'm not sure; I haven't really looked yet." Sam nodded, and they approached the car. "Here, do you mind putting these away?" Dean held up the weapons in his arms. Sam took them easily, and rested them on the ground as he unlocked the trunk and arsenal. While his brother was busy, Dean went over to a few trees and crouched down to where Nicole was sitting. "Hey, how're you holding up?"

"Still breathin'." Nicole winced, holding her leg.

Dean smiled slightly and lifted her up into his arms again. He carried her back to the Impala, and gestured for Sam to open the car door. Once he had, Dean carefully rested her on the back seats, then reached in towards her. "Let me see."

"It's fine."

The green eyes stared at her for a long moment, until she sighed and relaxed. He nodded and gently cradled her leg, carefully pulling up the bloody jean. Nicole winced and hissed, but Dean was gentle as he revealed the torn skin. The bullet hadn't hit her exactly, just skimmed her leg, but deep enough to be serious. The Hunter wiped away some of the dark blood with his thumb, eyeing the tear through the flesh. "You're gonna need stitches."

Nicole sighed and dropped her head back against the seat. "Great."

He smiled slightly. "You'll live though."

"Even with you dumping me by some trees while you go back to save your brother's ass, eh? Ain't that a relief."

"Hey, if you wanted to be treated like royalty and safely packed in the car, fine. But Sammy wouldn't have made it, and neither would we."

"Yeah, I know. Kidding."

He smiled slightly. "I know."

She lifted her head up again, eyebrows furrowing. "What about you? What happened to your arm?"

Dean glanced down at his shoulder and saw his jacket was bloody. "Oh I'm fine, I just got knicked. I can fix this myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He grinned, flashing his straight teeth. "You're not worried about me, are you?"

"Not really." Nicole laid down again, closing her eyes. "Now let's go so my leg will stop burning."

"Whatever." Dean still smiled, but shut the car door and jumped in the driver's seat as Sam slid into passenger.

"Hey, do you want me to drive? With your arm?" Sam suggested, but got a sharp glare from his brother. "Or not." He glanced behind himself. "Is your leg okay?"

"Yeah, just bleeding a bit."

"Careful with the upholstery, by the way." Dean commented, olive-colored gaze flicking to the reviewmirror.

"Whatever, man."

**Wyoming Medical Center; Casper, Wyoming**

**10:13 PM**

Nicole woke up with a gasp, and then coughed at the taste of the air. The hospital always had a weird smell.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sam stood up from a chair sitting against the wall, and walked over to her bed.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She sat up straighter, clearing her eyes of sleep. She'd slept. And no nightmares. Maybe being drugged had it's good points. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. The doctors put you under for the stitches, and you just stayed for a bit I guess."

Nicole pushed away some of the blanket on top of her, and pulled up the edge of the hospital gown, revealing the sensitive stitching across her calf. "Ugh. Needles." She covered it back up and cracked her neck tiredly. "Where's your brother?"

"Getting something to eat, I think. He's been sitting here the whole time you've been out. I just made him leave." The young man smiled gently.

"Huh. So what is gonna happen to those freaks back at their place?"

After a quick confused glance, Sam understood what she meant. "Oh, right. I sent in a short, anonymous tip to the police about a couple of dead bodies and some other weird shit at that location. The police arrived, and then after they found out about Thomas, they tracked you here. Since you were out, they talked to Dean and I, and we gave them our story."

"Which is?"

"We're Mark and Nathan Hall, a couple friends of yours, and we've all been together for the past few days, on a short road trip. We came out of a bar earlier and you slipped, then cut your leg on some broken glass." Nicole raised her eyebrows and Sam just shrugged. "It'll do." He let loose a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair, soft eyes tired. "You'll probably get a call from the police though, because of your brother."

Nicole nodded soberly. "To I.D. him?"

"Yeah."

"Great. So do you guys have plans after this? What about that "family business" you were up to?"

"Uh, yeah. That's an ongoing thing."

She nodded again, then shifted in the bed. "Is it about that Hunting stuff?" Sam visibly stiffened. "Dean mentioned it to me, but I figured he was crazy." She paused. "But truth is, other than that, he seems pretty damn sane. So I kinda have to wonder."

"Uhm," The tall man rubbed the back of his neck in unease. "Yeah, it's about that."

"And you do really..'hunt' these creatures and spirits and shit?"

"Yeah."

"You know you sound insane?"

"Trust me, you're not the first person to say that."

Nicole half smiled. "I didn't think so. So what does any of that have to do with family business? Or was that just bullshit?"

"No, we're actually, uh, looking for our dad. He was out hunting a while back and disappeared for a while. Recently we've gotten a phone call and a few coordinates to hunts, but otherwise nothing."

"Do you think he's dead?"

Sam winced slightly at the bluntness of her question. "We don't know."

"You don't know or you don't want to know?"

"We don't know." He repeated, meeting her gaze evenly.

Dean walked in then, with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Hey. You're up." He flashed Nicole a quick smile and she smiled slightly in return.

"Yeah."

"How're you feeling?"

"Good enough, I suppose."

He nodded. "That's good."

They both lapsed into an awkward silence then, until Sam cleared his throat. "Uhm, I'm gonna go get something to drink. I'll let you two alone." He forced a smile and quickly left.

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**_Sorry about the rather 'lame-ness' of this chapter's ending! I didn't originally intend for the chapter to end at this part, but if I kept going as I'd planned, the chapter would be almost annoyingly-lengthy. So I cut it just about in the middle, and the next chapter will pick right up from here :)_**


	11. Windows and Faces

"Thanks.." Dean muttered, and then pulled up a chair bedside Nicole's bed, resting back in it comfortably. "So did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

"No nightmares?"

Nicole glanced at him, at how serious he was. "No. No nightmares."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly, Dean. I think the drugs had me out too bad to have any nightmares."

He nodded slowly. "I guess that's good then."

"Sure." She stared down at the white blankets covering her.

"So, the doctors said they could have you out of here when you woke up, and since you've woken up..." He shrugged. "Unless you want to stay."

"Are you kidding?" Nicole sat up and swung around to hang her legs off the side of the bed. "I am so ready to be out of here."

"Wait, let's have a doctor check on you first, just in case." Dean stood, and tried to prevent her from getting up.

"I'm fine, Dean. I just got some stitches in my leg, it's not like I had a stroke."

"Yeah, well...ah." He smiled as a nurse walked into the room.

"May I help you, sir?" She asked politely and Dean just grinned, green eyes trailing down her body rather obviously.

"I hope so.." Nicole forced her foot into the back of the man's knee and he jumped, clearing his throat. "Uh, actually my friend here needs to be checked out. The doctors said when she woke up, she should be ready to go. We just wanted to make sure."

"Alright, let me check a few things." The nurse smiled politely and then lifted up the edge of the hospital gown to look at Nicole's stitches carefully. "You aren't uncomfortable or feel any problem?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine."

She nodded. "Okay let me get one of the doctors, and we can have you out of here." She smiled again, glanced at Dean who was smiling as well, and then left.

"Well you're subtle." Nicole grumbled, and slid off the hospital bed to stand on her own.

"Huh?"

"You honestly get chicks to sleep with you, after looking at them like that?"

"Like what?"

"Oh for fuck's sake." Nicole sighed and shook her head. "You're disgusting."

"You didn't seem to think so the first night we met." Dean grinned charmingly.

"Bullshit. Or do you not remember the rejection I threw at ya when you came on to me? I went and saw your little bro instead." She smirked. "I think that says something."

"Yeah, apparently for once I can get a chick that Dean can't." Sam appeared, smiling and playing right with Nicole. His brother blew them both off easily.

"Think what you want, bro, but I'm still the one that made out with her later." Dean grinned again and took a drink of his coffee, Nicole obviously fuming. Before she lashed back, a police officer walked in. The trio all stopped their conversation and stared at the officer.

"Nicole Grazier?" The elderly man asked and she nodded. "I'm Officer Cooper, I need to ask you a few questions."

"Uh sure."

"You were with these two, Mark and Nathan Hall, on a road trip for the last several days, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Where did you go?"

"Uh.." Nicole glanced, panicked, at the brothers and while Dean shrugged, Sam mouthed _Colorado_. "Uh, Colorado, sir."

"Did you have any contact with your brother in that time?"

"No."

"No phone calls or anything?"

"Not that I specifically remember, no."

The officer nodded, and then wrote something down in a notebook. "You were at bar, where you hurt your leg?"

"Yes, sir. Cut it on some glass."

"Okay."

"Officer, may I ask why I'm being questioned?"

"We're just trying to figure out how your brother might have been kidnapped, and if it was anything related to your family, or just him."

"I see."

He sighed and looked up again. "I only have one more question, Miss Grazier."

"Okay."

The man reached into his back pocket, pulling something out. "Is this your brother?"

Nicole covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears at the pale face on the picture in front of her. She could only nod, inhaling shakily.

"I'm sorry for your loss, miss." The officer put the picture away, and closed his notebook. "Thank you for your time." Nicole didn't reply and the man left, leaving her with the two Winchesters.

"Nicole, are you alright?" Sam asked softly after a few moments.

She took a shaky breath and covered her eyes with her hand for a moment. "I'm fine. It's just..hard to see."

"I know. It'll be okay."

Before Nicole could answer, a doctor walked in. "Alright miss, it looks like you're good to go."

Nicole removed her hand from her face and cleared her throat. "Really?"

"Yep. You said you feel fine? Not drowsy or anything?"

"No, not really."

"That's good. Your leg will start to hurt a bit later when the painkillers wear off, but we've got some pills here you can take for a few days. Just one every six or so hours, okay?" The man handed her a small container of white pills and she nodded.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem. Have a good night, miss."

"Thanks, doctor." He nodded and left and she glanced around. "Guys, where are my clothes?"

"Oh, uh, in the bathroom I think." Sam answered, ignoring the look from his brother.

Nicole hurried into the room and shut the door, before emerging a couple minutes later, dressed and looking uncomfortable. "Guys.."

"What's wrong?" The younger man asked her, cute features concerned.

"I'm gonna need some new clothes. These have still got dirt and blood on them." She winced and looked down at her leg. "Especially the pants."

"Oh. Right. Well you have some clothes in your bag right?"

"Uh no. I just brought a few small things, so I wouldn't be a burden."

"Oh, okay." Sam glanced at Dean. "We'll stop somewhere then."

"It's alright, if you can just get me back to my dad's, I can take care of myself from there."

"Won't your dad think it's a little odd for you to go visit an out-of-state friend for just a day?" Dean interrupted.

"I'll tell him the plane cancelled." Dean made a face, and Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me around longer?"

"What? No."

"Good."

"Alright, so we'll get you back to your dad's house." Sam interrupted before they started bickering again. "Come on."

**10:33 PM**

The Impala purred to a halt infront of Nicole's father's house and Sam climbed out to let her out as well. "Okay, here ya go." He smiled gently and she reflected it.

"Thanks, Sam. Thanks a lot for all of this." Nicole reached up and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he squeezed lightly back.

"Sure thing."

She smiled again and then leaned over to look behind him, at his brother. "Thank you too."

The man nodded, a faint smile on his sober features. "Stay safe, alright?"

"I plan on it."

He smiled a slight bit more. "Good."

Nicole nodded and then looked back up at Sam. "You guys gonna go look for your dad?"

"Yeah."

"Well good luck with that."

"Thanks, seems like we need it." Sam smiled crookedly, his puppy-like features tired.

"You're smart guys, you'll find him." She tried to reassure the man, but he just nodded with a forced sad smile. "Anyway, I should go. It's late and dad won't be happy I'm waking him up. Thanks again."

"I'm sorry about your brother."

Nicole paused. "It's not your fault. You did what you could." Sam didn't answer, because he knew she didn't want one. "Have a goodnight, Sam." She smiled briefly, and turned back to her father's house. And then she froze, her breath in her throat and blood cold. She counted her heart beats instead of the seconds, and the image before her didn't flicker within five of them.

"Nicole?" Sam asked curiously.

"Sam.." She breathed softly. "The window."

"Wh-" He stopped before he even finished the word. "Oh god. Dean!"

"What now?" The older man complained and Nicole heard the car door open, and then there was silence. "What?"

Nicole blinked and now saw nothing, then turned around to face Sam, to know she wasn't insane. "Sam..."

"Yeah, I saw it."

"Saw what?" Dean asked, expression confused.

"Nicole, I think you should stay with us for a bit." Sam opened the car door and gestured in. Nicole hesitated and Sam softened his tone. "Just for a little bit. We can talk this over." Nicole stared at his pathetic Puppy Dog Charm-look and then nodded, quickly ducking back into the vehicle.

"Sammy, what the hell is going on? What did you two see?" Dean demanded, deep voice harsh.

Sam slid back into the car and sighed, shutting the door. "Thomas."


	12. Comfort in Darkness

**_I want to thank everyone for the adds and reviews, it means a lot! Reviews are admittedly the best, I think, it's great to hear what you guys think! :) Now this is a somewhat lengthy chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it!_**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Hotel room**

**10:47 PM**

"Wait, so explain this to me again?" Dean slammed the hotel room door shut and dropped his keys onto a table, rugged features darkly serious.

Sam sighed, sitting on the bed opposite Nicole. "He was in the house, looking through the window at us. He looked like a normal boy..except that he's supposed to be dead."

"He was just standing there? Did he do anything?"

"No, not anything specific, he just stared."

"And then he was just gone?"

"Yeah."

"Guys, that wasn't really Thomas right? It was just me seeing things?" Nicole asked, slightly panicked.

The brothers shared a glance, and Sam sighed again. "Well I saw it too."

"And Sammy seeing things can mean trouble." Dean added, with a short glare from his younger brother.

"What Dean means is, we both saw it. So it wasn't the whole notion of you just seeing memories or something, he was actually there."

Nicole laughed shortly, humorlessly. "That's not possible."

"Remember what we told you earlier about Hunting?"

"...yeah."

"Well that's not possible either. You get it?"

Nicole shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So you're saying I saw what? A ghost?"

Sam shrugged. "A spirit, maybe. Could even be a shape-shifter. Full-on zombie, perhaps."

"Talk about disturbing. Well what do we do?"

"I don't know, maybe nothing. Maybe he doesn't want anything."

"But if he does want something, then what?"

"Well that depends."

"Depends on what?"

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but his brother interrupted, words quick and precise. "Taking the most likely answer, he's probably a ghost, if he's angry, we have to salt and burn the remains." Nicole's eyes widened and she started to argue, but Dean held up a hand. "If he's just..I don't know, enjoying the view, we might need to do the same. Or find another way to put him at rest."

"But..but why wouldn't Thomas be at rest? What could be wrong?"

"Well Nicole, he was a still just a kid; maybe he wants his life back. Or maybe he's just having trouble letting go."

Nicole rested her head in her hands, sighing. "This is insane."

Dean half-smiled. "Not so much for us."

"Okay, so what do we do now?"

"Right now, we try to get some sleep. Wait until tomorrow. Then we go pay your brother a visit." Dean slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto another table, running his hand through his short hair.

"Woah, wait, no. We are not going to look at my brother's corpse! How the hell would you guys do that anyway?"

Sam smiled slightly. "We're, uh, not the most legal guys."

Nicole stared at both of them. "Care to explain that, Sam?"

"It's a long story and it just has to do with the Hunting. I mean, how well do you think it pays?"

She stood and paced a few steps, before stopping and shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm in all of this. Can't we wait at least until the funeral? I mean maybe Tommy's...his..spirit, isn't harmful or whatever. Then can't we wait three days?"

The brothers shared a look, and Dean just winced as Sam nodded. "Yeah, I guess we could."

"But if this thing shows up beforehand and is dangerous, we have all the right to do our job." Dean interuppted, green gaze serious.

"I know." Nicole replied. "Now, can we go to bed? This has been one hell of a day."

The younger Winchester smiled tiredly and stood. "Yeah, definitley."

Nicole paused. "Wait. Three of us - two beds. Who's sleeping on the floor?"

"What, you don't wanna double up?" Dean grinned and Nicole curled her lip back in disgust.

"Creep."

"Not even with Sammy?"

"Fine, I'll take the floor." Nicole pulled a sheet off one of the beds and dropped it to the floor, followed by her jacket which she used as a small pillow.

"Dean." Sam argued quietly, and the older man sighed.

"Fine. I'll have the floor instead. Move." He picked up Nicole's jacket and tossed it back onto the bed, but left the sheet and used his own jacket as a pillow. He dropped to the floor with a grunt and rested down on his back. "Happy?"

"Not ever." Nicole grumbled quietly and turned off a light before sliding into her own bed.

"What, no undressing or anything?"

"Shut up, Dean." It was Sam's annoyed voice now, as he lay on top of his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"This is no fun, Sammy."

Sam just sighed and leaned over to turn out the last light.

**12:32 AM**

_She was going to die, going to drown in the cold darkness. The weight of the freezing water held her down and she was going to succumb to it, to the death before her eyes. She clawed at it to go away and let her drown, until light flashed and warmth pressed against her. It shoved her towards the surface and told her to try again, harder. So she did; she reached for the surface that had to be there and the warmth helped her forward, until she broke out into cold night air. She gulped down the air, letting it freeze her lungs, and the warmth tried to push her out, help her. And then cold wrapped around her throat and the air inside of her was cut short, and she slammed back into the freezing darkness. Water choked her already choking body and then she was pulled out into freezing air. Dark blue eyes, dark blue eyes glared at her and the light blonde hair was falling into them, it'd gotten so long. The young features were angrier than she'd ever seen, and his strength was unreal. She was shoved back under into the black water, and his grasp around her throat was so strong, not even water could get through. She clawed at his arms, but had no effect. Her body heaved with the straining, and still nothing. Then pulled out of the black again, and his mouth formed words. A word. One word, and she couldn't hear it but knew it. She knew the word, couldn't recall it. The boy, her little kid brother, mouthed the word again and shook his head, dark eyes burning with the anger. And then behind the blue eyes, in the darkness behind them both, she saw green eyes. Green eyes, a familiar face, and warmth pushed her brother, until it brushed her. The warmth tried to push past the cold and she grasped for it as she went under black again. "Dean-!"_

"-no!" Cold adrenaline hit her as she was shaken awake, panting.

"Hey, hey, shhhh. It's alright." The deep voice of the man that had woken her was soft, trying to calm her down. "Shhh. It's okay. Shh."

Nicole continued to pant, despite the cold sheen of sweat across her skin. She brought a shaking hand up to her head and tried to take a deep breath. "D-Dean?"

"Yeah."

She glanced over at the bed across from her. The large man on it shifted and then sighed, laying on his back with an arm across his stomach. "Is Sam asleep?"

"As far as I know."

"Why aren't you?" She swallowed and finally got her heart rate stable.

"It's a little hard to sleep when the person on the bed above keeps rolling around and muttering shit."

"Oh. Sorry."

There was no reply for a moment, until the smooth, deep voice spoke quietly again. "Another nightmare huh?"

Nicole's eyes searched the dark room and tried to locate where the Hunter was. She saw a dark shape crouched by her, one part of it - arm, perhaps - resting on the bed.

"Nicole?"

"I, uh..." She slid quietly out of the bed and jumped when Dean stood, her breath catching.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine. I'm gonna get some air." She reached for the door out of the room, and her hand brushed against something warm. She quickly jerked her hand back, and he opened the door, light spilling in onto Dean's concerned features. Nicole forced a strained smile and slipped out the door. She hurried down the small corridor and around the corner, out to face the dark parking lot. The cold air chilled her but she needed it, needed something to clear her head. She sighed heavily and leaned back against the building, eyes closed.

"Nicole, what's going on?"

"God-" Nicole jumped again when Dean suddenly appeared in front of her; she'd thought he had stayed in the room. "Go back to bed Dean."

"What's with these nightmares? What are they about?"

"They're just nightmares Dean, it's nothing."

His deep green gaze flicked towards their room, then back to her, his expression serious. "Not always."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. What are your nightmares about?"

"Tell me what you were talking about."

"Tell me about your nightmares."

They stared at each other angrily for a long, cold moment, until Nicole sighed. "Fine. For a while, I was just running through a forest and then I'd fall into water. Then it would start where I was in the water, but couldn't get out, like I was drowning. And...yeah." She finished nervously, biting her lip slightly.

Dean stared. "What else?"

"What? Nothing."

"You're lying."

"Tell me what you were talking about!"

"I-..it's not really my place to say."

"What do you mean?"

"Ask Sam later."

"What? This has to do with nightmares? Dean, what are you talking about?"

The older groaned, running a hand over his face tiredly. "This is surprisingly difficult."

"Just tell me."

"Tell me about your nightmares. How long have you been having them?"

Nicole hesitated, but just for a second. "Since Thomas disappeared."

"Every night?" She nodded. "And lately, what have they been about? Since the ones where you were drowning, what's happened?" He watched her carefully, strong features attentive and serious, olive-eyes wide and observing. "Tell me, maybe I can help." The baritone voice was soft and soothing and Nicole sighed, finding herself breaking beneath it.

"I'm still in the water and drowning, but there is this, uh, this thing trying to save me.." She shifted, not meeting the eyes of the man in front of her.

"Save you from the water?"

She nodded. "For a while, yeah."

"What do you mean?"

Nicole's voice was choked then, and she found it hard to control her emotions. The images of her nightmare, of Thomas forcing her beneath the water, flashed across her vision and she sunk down to the ground, back still pressed against the wall.

"Nicole?" Dean crouched in front of her, one hand holding her arm protectively.

"After we..we found out about Thomas, he was in my nightmares. He..I was in the water and he..he was holding me under, Dean." Her voice broke as a whisper, her eyes burning. "He was holding me under."

Dean's features softened as he understood why the nightmares freaked her out so much, and he sighed quietly. "Nicole-"

"Do you and Sam fight? Or, well, how much?"

He studied her for a moment, eyes roaming over her pale skin, dark hair, tortured dark blue eyes, and the firm line of her lips, straining to control herself. Then he sighed softly and shrugged. "A bit, I guess."

"But you still look out for each other, right?"

"Yeah. Always."

"If you and Sam were to get into a fight, so bad that it just seemed to last forever, and then one day Sam was gone - what would you do? How would you feel?"

Dean thought over her question, honestly considering the circumstances. He adjusted so he was beside her, leaning back against the wall like she was. "I'd feel like a dick. I would..I'd be totally lost. My world would be fucked, because I had let Sammy down, and I had let Dad down, and I...well by that point, I would have let everyone down.." His words were soft and low, as he tried not to get too into what he was imagining.

"But what if Sam came back, even in just your dreams, and...and seemed to be blaming you for something? Punishing you, maybe?"

Dean glanced over at her, concerned. "If that was the case, I'd talk to the first Hunters I saw and try to make it stop before someone got hurt."

Nicole seemed immune to his obvious demand as she sighed shakily. "Nevermind."

"I'm serious Nicole. You don't know how real this can be."

"It's nothing. I just still can't comprehend that he's gone, Dean. It just doesn't seem possible. He was my little brother, you know?" Her voice was just a soft whisper, as she tried to contain the tears. "And I just...god, I used to hate him. I seriously hated that kid." She laughed humorlessly as a stream of water broke down her face. "He drove me up the fucking wall, and was such a damn baby. He was everything to mom and got all the royal treatment from her, when I..I tried, and did my best, and worked hard for everyone and to maintain what little peace we had, but was that ever good enough?" She shook her head and let loose a shaky breath. "No, not for mom. Dad accepted what I did and understood my issues with Mom and Thomas, but I was just too much like him I guess. I never got along with either of them, and so when I got stuck with the stupid kid here...guess it was just bound to happen, huh?" She finally looked back up at the Hunter beside her and tried to shakily smile, her face glistening with the few tears that had slipped out.

Dean shifted uncomfortably, no good at the emotional things, and gently brushed back some of the hair from her face. "Nicole, Thomas wasn't your fault. It just happened, you couldn't have prevented it."

"I should have tried harder."

"Hey, I think you tried pretty hard. Especially for a chick that hated her brother." He smiled gently, and it pulled at something inside of her.

"God-....Dean..." She choked on the tears she was holding back, and instead leaned against him, one arm curving up behind him in a tight hug. The breath she tried to take was shaky and she knew this was the wrong thing to do, that she shouldn't look for sympathy or comfort in a guy like Dean, but right now he was all she had. He held her back for a moment, until she let go of him like he was on fire, and pressed closer to the wall, away from him. "Sorry. That was..uncalled for."

He stared at her for a moment, his hand still resting on her arm. Her dark blue eyes watched his movements, studied his green gaze and hardened features carefully. She saw something in his eyes and then closed her own and held her breath, until his lips found hers. The connection was familiar and sparked something inside them both, something they'd tried to bury beneath insults and taunting. Nicole sighed into the gentle kiss and her hands curled up around Dean's neck, fingers combing through his soft hair as his strong arms curved around her body, holding her tight and close. Their mouths moved together easily, and Dean could taste the salt of her tears on her lips, in her mouth. He held her for a second more, before she pulled herself away with a gasp.

Nicole stared past the man in front of her, out into the dark parking lot. She tried to focus on the person standing beside a truck, and told herself she was imagining things. It was late, and dark and she was seeing things. He seemed to flicker, like an old movie, and was gone, but the moment was ruined. Nicole's breath was too fast, uneven in nervousness.

"Nicole? What's wrong?" Dean held her face in his hands, studying her expression. "Did you see something?"

"N-No.." Her eyes betrayed her, still searching the now-empty parking lot.

A white smile flashed in front of her, and she glanced at the perfect face just inches from her own. "You can't lie to a liar, Nicole. What'd you see?" He hesitated, then continued quietly. "Was it Thomas? Did you see Thomas?"

"I..."

"Nicole, did you see your brother?"

"I..I don't..know. I don't know what I saw." It was an almost honest answer, and he took it with a firm nod.

"Let's go." Dean let her go and stood up, reached a hand down to help Nicole to her feet. She took it and he lifted her up, pulling her close for an instant to press his mouth against hers once more. She stepped back, slightly dazed, and ran a hand through her dark hair. She stared at the strongly handsome Hunter, and then shook her head, biting her lip.

"We should get back to the room."

"Nicole.."

"I'm just re-bounding, Dean." She cut him off, and slowly started back to the hotel room.

The older Winchester sighed and stared at her for a moment, wondering briefly if the entire scene he'd just experienced had even really happened. He couldn't understand her, her resistance to him entirely. But he did know she still wasn't saying something about her nightmares, and something was wrong inside of her.


	13. Alone With Family, Alone With Myself

**7:56 AM**

Sam blinked awake at the sun falling across his eyes, and groaned before rolling over and sitting up. He swung his long legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed sleep from his eyes, glancing over at his brother, who was leaning against the hotel room wall. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eight."

"Great. How long have you been up?"

"A while."

Sam just nodded, not caring for specifics, and stood with a sigh. "Where's Nicole?"

"Shower."

He nodded again and shuffled over to the desk in the corner, where he could see bags of take-out-food. He browsed through some of it, and just pulled out a couple french fries to chew on. The man settled into a chair, and leaned back, before noticing the look on his older brother's face. "What's wrong, Dean?"

The shorter man sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head for a second before tucking both hands into his jean pockets with another sigh. "It's just...Nicole."

"Nicole?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Something's not right, man. She's being weird."

"Yeah, her brother just died."

"No, I mean..she's been having these nightmares."

That caught Sam's attention. "What's she said about 'em?"

"Not much, just what I managed to get out of her last night."

"Wait, when were you talking to her last night?"

"She had another nightmare and woke me up, so I snapped her out of it and tried to make her talk." Dean shook his head. "But that's not the point. She's been having them since Thomas disappeared, and they're every night."

"Well did she say what's happening in them?"

"All she would tell me is that she was running through a forest, then would fall into water, and then started drowning. Since we found out about Thomas however, he's been there, holding her under."

"Did she say anything else?"

"No."

"But you think there's more?"

Dean sighed softly, eyes wandering around the room. "Yeah."

The younger Winchester was fully awake now, and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "Okay, so she has these repetitive nightmares with her brother, and then he starts showing up in our world too? Do you think it's connected?"

"I don't know, Sammy, but what do we do if it is?"

"Well we still don't know Thomas means any harm."

"He died a violent death, why wouldn't he mean harm?"

"All I'm saying is that he hasn't tried to hurt any of us yet, right?" Dean didn't answer, and Sam continued. "So maybe he's just trying to get a message across."

"And what do you think that is? 'I'm just gonna be a friendly ghost to roam around and scare the crap out of you just because'? Not happening, Sammy."

"Hey Dean?" Sam asked quietly after a silent moment. "Do you, uh, do you think Nicole's nightmares are like mine?"

"What? No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, they just don't seem like it."

"You can't be sure though."

"Come on Sam, what are the chances? She's just having nightmares."

"Hey, I was just having nightmares too."

"Yes but your's were for other people. She's having nightmares about herself, it's different."

"So? Doesn't mean it's not what I have."

"It's not, Sam, let it go." Dean stood angrily and began pacing around the room.

"Okay dude, I'm just thinking out loud here, and you don't seem to have any other ideas."

"Whatever." He paced another couple steps, and then stopped suddenly, facing his brother uneasily. "I forgot something." Sam just raised his eyebrows in question and his brother continued. "I think she saw him again last night."

"Thomas?"

"Yeah."

"Did she say she saw him, or that he tried to do anything?"

"Well no, she didn't really say anything. But I know she did, just the way she acted...she had to have seen him again, Sam."

"But you didn't?"

"No I, uh, I was looking the other way."

The younger man nodded and ran his thumb along his jaw in thought. "How long did she see him?"

"I don't know, a couple seconds?"

"So we still don't have-" Both men stopped their conversation and looked up when the bathroom door opened, and Nicole stepped out, clean and redressed. She glanced at them both nervously and then stepped towards Sam to grab a fry from one of the food bags.

"Talking about me behind my back, boys?"

"No." Dean shot back instantly, and Nicole smiled faintly.

"Sure thing."

"How are you?" Sam butt-in and both Nicole and Dean gave him a strange look.

"Uh, I'm fine, thanks." Nicole chewed another fry. "I think I'm gonna go, and meet back up with you guys at the funeral."

"What? Where are you going?" Dean stepped away from the wall finally and stood with his arms crossed - Nicole tried to ignore the obvious biceps emerging from beneath his t-shirt sleeves.

"Uh, to my dad's probably. I need to have time with my family for a little bit before the funeral I think. You know, so I'm not totally out of the picture."

"That makes sense," Sam spoke now, understanding what Nicole was talking about. "I'm sure you've got plenty you need to take care of with your family."

"Yeah, more than likely." She sighed and popped another cold fry into her mouth. "As fun as it sounds."

Sam's mouth twitched slightly and he nodded. "So when are you gonna take off?"

"Now, I think. There's probably a bunch of shit to do with the funeral arrangements, and no time to lose. Plus the later I get there, the longer a lecture from my mom." She rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket and bag, slipping the coat over her arms. "I'll make sure you guys are on the guest list, okay? Funeral will be Wednesday at two, at the Maurim Funeral Home. Look it up." She forced a smile, keeping her lips pressed together, and then sighed. "I'll see you guys in a couple days."

"So you're just leaving?" Dean finally spoke up again.

"Well, yeah. My whole family lost Thomas, not just me." She paused and dropped her gaze, uncomfortable. "I have to face them sometime."

"It's not your fault, Nicole." Sam reminded her gently but she just nodded.

"That's what you keep saying, but my family is different, I'm sure. Anyway, I need to go."

"Alright. We'll see you later."

"Thanks Sam, and Dean." Nicole forced another smile, and then shoved open the door and disappeared, leaving the two guys with just each other. Leaving one of them alone.

**8:36 AM**

Nicole knocked reluctantly on the white door, already able to feel a headache coming. The door opened and she tried to smile at the stocky man with pale, greying hair, and soft blue-green eyes. "Hey Dad."

He tried smile in return and she leaned into him, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Nicole, I'm sorry for you too."

"I tried, Dad."

"I know."

Nicole held back the tears both of them had, and nodded. "It wasn't enough."

"You couldn't have done anything. It's not your fault."

She laughed shortly and emotionlessly. "Yeah, sure." She sniffed back her tears and sighed. "Mom here?"

"Yeah, she showed up just about an hour ago." Her father stepped back to let her through the door, and Nicole took a hesitant step forward. "In the living room." She followed his directions and soon found her small, dark-haired mother sitting on her father's couch - a strange sight indeed, considering the memories of messy divorce.

"Hey mom."

The women looked up, eyes red and face streaked with tears. "Nicole, he's..he's...my little boy is gone.." She sobbed, and Nicole tried to contain her emotions, including the tinge of anger.

"I know, Mom, I know. I'm sorry."

"Why weren't you watching him? He should have been with you the whole time."

"He's old enough not to have me as a baby-sitter, mom."

"Nicole, please, this is hard for all of us." Her father interrupted and Nicole just glared, already sick of being around them both. So she stood with her arms crossed tightly, and took a deep breath.

"I'm just here to help with plans for the funeral, okay?"

Her dad nodded. "Thank you."

"Uh, I was also wondering if I could stay here for the night? Just cause it's easier than a hotel."

"Yeah, of course. Just use the guest room."

"Alright. Dad?"

"Yeah?" He followed her towards the guest room, away from her overly-dramatic mother.

"You know I didn't mean for anything bad to happen to Thomas, right? You know I tried hard to find him?"

"I know, I do. You and Thomas didn't always get along, but I know you would have done all you could to find him."

Nicole tried to smile, but it was hard. "Thanks."

"Just get comfortable and settled down, then we'll sort out your brother's funeral arrangements, okay?"

"Is the guest list already figured out?"

"Yeah."

"Is it possible to alter it a bit? Y'know, just add a couple names?"

"Yeah, sure. You need to add some people?"

"Yeah. I'll get it later, then." Her father just nodded in reply, and then left the doorway. Nicole sighed and looked around the plain room, already exhausted with the events to come.

**1:37 AM**

_Held under the water, and into the black, and it was suffocating. The pressure of the water pressed around her body as the pressure around her neck clenched tighter and tighter, harder and harder. She strained against the impossibly strong hold and screamed soundlessly into the freezing water. She could see through the cold liquid, just enough to recognize the light blonde hair and dark blue eyes. The angry blue eyes. She was pulled out of the water again, and the word was on his lips, still muted and familiar. She strained to understand, to recall what the one word was because she knew it, but he just shook his head angrily and shoved her under again. Her screams echoed only in her mind and her vision had black on the edges. Warmth pushed at her then, and tried to force her to the suface, but to no prevail. She was pulled up again, allowing just enough air for her to stay alive but be tortured nonetheless. The warmth brushed against her, and the grasp around her throat loosened. She gasped, only to be cut off again. And then green in the darkness around her, and warmth, green in the warmth. Green eyes that she needed, needed to save her, and the blue eyes were angrier-_

Her eyes flew open as her body heaved with the panting, still feeling the hands around her neck for another several seconds. Nicole tried to take a deep breath, her eyes flicking around the unseen objects of the room, as the darkness seemed to push down on her. She scrambled into a seated position and flicked on the bed-side light, relaxing only slightly when the yellow glow touched details of the room. Her eyes scanned the space around her, and she found she was disappointed not to find someone there to comfort her. No soft olive-colored eyes and a warm embrace to tell her it was just a nightmare. The room was bare, empty, and cold. Nicole turned out the light and lay back down. Cold and dark. And she hated herself for wanting him there beside her.


	14. Holding Onto Sanity

**37 hours later**

Nicole was so sick of people walking up to her in tears, wanting to hug it out and say they were sorry. What could they all be sorry for? That she had been just yards from her brother when he was murdered? That she had gotten herself captured and then locked up in a freaking cage instead of finding Thomas? No, none of them knew about that. None of them how sorry they really could be. So instead she forced on something resembling a smile, and thanked them, hugged them back. She drifted around the room, avoiding just one area - the area with the dark box -, and then winced when her father found her and told her they had to start soon.

"I don't have to do anything, do I Dad?" She asked desperately.

He shook his head. "No, you don't. But it would mean a lot to some of us if you said something about your brother."

"There's nothing to say."

"There's always something to say, you of all people know that." He smiled gently, trying to tease and keep her spirits up.

"I just..I can't, Dad. Not to all these people."

"Okay, okay. But please try to show your face a bit more? You can't hide out at your brother's funeral."

"You know how I am with crowds, Dad. Especially family gatherings."

"I know but Nicole, this isn't a normal family gathering. Just please cooperate?"

She sighed and nodded as he walked away. "I'm trying." She flashed a strained smile at one of her uncles, and then picked up a cup of some punch off a table. She took a sip and winced - food and drink was even less tasteful at this point. She put down the cup and rubbed her temple, closing her eyes for a moment, then glanced up at the person that had appeared in front of her. Nicole gasped and actually smiled - a real smile - and wrapped her arms up around the man's neck without hesitation. "Sam. It's great to see you." She let him go and stepped back, smiling nervously as she realized how eager she'd just been.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" He smiled gently and his grey-brown eyes were soft, concerned.

"I'm holding." She replied and he laughed softly, bright smile a relief to see. She was tired of tear-streaked faces and depressed gazes.

"That's good. I can't imagine how hard this is." He touched her arm gently and she just nodded.

"Yeah, it's something. So, uh, where's your brother?"

"Parking the car. You know he doesn't trust anyone else too."

Nicole smiled slightly. "Right. So, services are about to start I guess. Wanna get a seat?"

"You're not saying anything?"

"Uh, no I don't think so."

"Why?" Sam asked gently, as they settled into two empty chairs, amist the crowd of relatives and friends.

"What can I say, Sam? I hated the kid when he was alive, and wasn't exactly the best sister. Then I'm the one that sends him outside, gets him caught, gets myself caught, and still doesn't manage to stop anything? No." She shook her head, and watched people begin to sit down. "I'm not going up there."

Sam nodded understandingly, and nudged her gently, a faint smile on his lips. "I think you did great, and did all that could have been done. It's okay."

"Thanks, Sam." She smiled slightly and then looked up when a figure stepped into her vision. "Took you long enough."

"What, no 'Hi, how are you' for me?" The older Winchester grinned and sat on the other side of her.

"Apparently not."

"That's rude."

"You deserve it."

"Guys, please." Sam cut in, already appearing tired. "Just not here?"

"Whatever, dude." Dean grinned again and glanced around the room. "So this is the family, huh?"

"Mostly. Friends too."

"Uh huh. Service about to start?"

"Yep." Nicole nodded towards her father, who was walking up to the stand in front of the room.

Her father cleared his throat and glanced around the room, pale green eyes tired and worn. He was in front of a small microphone and his gaze locked with Nicole's for a moment, before he began to speak. "We all knew Thomaas in different ways, he was a different person to all of us. But we all shared one thing in how we saw him and that was..." Nicole let his familiar voice fade to the back of her mind as she fought to hold herself together, to remind herself that none of it was her fault. Or so they said. If it wasn't her fault, why the nightmares? She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath, then jumped when something gently touched her arm. She glanced up and saw Sam's soft hazel eyes, made sympathetic by his drawn-down eyebrows and puppy-like features. She smiled slightly to signal she was fine, and turned away - to be met with an even green gaze, serious and faintly uncomfortable. Nicole tried to stare back for a moment, to show him she could be strong enough for this, but before long she had to tear away; it was like he could see straight through her.

Nicole stayed fairly mellow and unemotional throughout all the speeches given by any friend or family member that felt the need. She caught several glances and whispers, all surely wondering why she wasn't up there herself. None of them would be able to understand if they wanted to. Or maybe it was her lack of emotion that stunned them? She should be crying right? Like her mother was - okay, scratch that, that was kind of obnoxious. Her father even had a fair amount of tears though. Hell, Sam looked pained as well. Then again, he'd seen Thomas kil- no. So Sam had reason. Dean though...she wasn't sure what he was. His stare was firm and solid, but something was tainting his features, something she didn't know. He glanced at her for a moment, feeling her watchful eyes, and she knew it - sympathy. Of all people, Dean was sympathetic? Towards whom - her, Thomas, or her family? Her family was more like it.

People began to stand up and move around, and Nicole was snapped back to all that was happening. She glanced around, and then felt a strong hand under her elbow, urging and helping her to her feet. She was surprised enough by it to let it help her up, and stared at Dean. "Thanks." She mumbled quietly and he just nodded firmly. "So what do we do now?" Nicole looked behind her at Sam, in question.

He opened his mouth for a second, and shrugged. "It's your funeral. Sort of."

"Well I can't say I've been to many of these things."

"You and your family just hug and share some tears, maybe swap memories. Then we eat to feel better, and it's over." Dean interruppted, voice tinged with taunting. Nicole stared and he continued, shit-eating-smug-grin on his face. "Maybe you can even get Sammy here to cry with ya, we all know he's good at that. Then again, you seem to be lacking in the emotional department at the moment, so maybe we're gonna have to have a contest to make you cry for your little brother."

She stared a moment more, and then fury flicked into her dark blue eyes. "Is this amusing to you, Winchester? You find this scene fucking entertaining?" She took a step closer to him, not even bothering to be surprised by her own flash of anger. "Maybe we'll bring out the cake and make it a fucking party!"

"Nicole," Sam gently pulled her back, shooting at glance at his brother. "Easy. He didn't mean anything."

"Fuck this." Nicole muttered, pulling away from Sam and stomping off towards her father and mother.

Sam stared at his older, and sometimes it seemed stupider, brother. Dean pressed his lips together in slight aggravation, and then noticed Sam watching him. "What?" He snapped and Sam shook his head.

"What the hell Dean? Honestly."

"Oh come on Sammy, what did I do? She was fine!"

"Yeah and you don't think that maybe she was "fine" to keep from falling apart?" Dean didn't answer, glancing away. "Huh, Dean?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Yes, you did, Dean. Didn't you see her looking at you during the service?"

"Well...yeah. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I don't know, Sammy. I saw her looking, but who's to say she just wasn't checkin' me out?" He grinned, but it faded quickly when he saw his younger brother's exasperated expression. "What's stuck up your ass, man?"

"Oh I don't know, Dean, just maybe the fact that you can't seem to understand when the hell a person is depending on you?!" Sam shifted, normally gentle eyes hard and aggravated.

"That doesn't make sense, dude." Dean replied simply, and strode easily towards the tables of food. He picked up a mini-sandwich and lifted it up to take a bite, only to have it knocked away by Sam. "What the hell?"

"Dean, seriously."

"Yeah, seriously that was my food!" Dean reached for another sandwich, but his brother grabbed ahold of his jacket and pulled him away from the table.

"Dean, just for once, listen to me. Now Nicole - she was relying on you to stay unemotional like always so she could be unemotional, and be okay. She needed you to be stable and stoic so that she wasn't the only one lacking emotion in the room. You changed, even the slightest, and she snapped."

"That I noticed.."

"This isn't funny, Dean. You made a mockery of her trouble with emotion, when you've got the same damn problem!" Sam stopped to take a breath, and stared in confusion at his brother's laid-back expression. "What hell has gotten into you all the sudden?"

"Nothing, Sam." Dean replied easily and started to walk away, only to have Sam grab his shoulder and make him turn around.

"No, it's something." The hazel eyes were confused, and Dean could practically see the gears churning in his brother's mind. "You just get uncomfortable seeing her emotional, don't you? You get nervous when she's sad or in pain or-"

"That's ridiculous, Sam." He tried to interrupt, but that didn't stop the onslaught.

"It's true, though. I just want to know why. I mean, I understand you were with her when she found out about Thomas, so you had to be there to witness all of that, but that doesn't make any sense for you to act like- ah!" The taller Winchester gasped and stumbled, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"Sam?" Dean grabbed his younger brother's arm, holding him stable. "Are you alright?"

_Night time..asphalt..parked, dark cars..._ Sam gasped again, pressing his palm to his temple. _The outside of a hotel..a gate...street lights..._

"Sam!"

_A dark house...1142...faded Halloween decorations....stray cat..._

"Sammy! Come on, man!"

_A figure was walking out of a hotel room, careful to be quiet, and then down the sidewalk...past cars and a building surrounded by iron fence....towards a house...the figure jumped as a cat hissed and swallowed nervously...the figure glanced around, looking for something...walked slowly up to the house...hand turning the doorknob..and the door opened easily. The figure paused..then stepped into the dark threshold....inside was dark, quiet and cold...no one was living here...a thud of movement, and the figure whirled around, eyes wide. Blue eyes wide. It was Nicole._

Sam was thrown back into reality with another gasp and he sagged against his brother, before controlling himself and standing on his own. He swallowed, and his eyes darted around swiftly, looking for Nicole.

"Sam, what'd you see?" He ignored his brother's voice, pushing away from him to look around more.

"Young man, are you alright?" Sam glanced down in confusion at an elderly lady, who was forced to look up almost a complete ninety-degrees to see him. "You looked like you were about to faint."

"Uh, no, I'm fine thank you." He flashed a strained smile and tried to move away.

"Well be careful, son." The little lady smiled and shuffled off, under Dean's raised eyebrows.

Sam just rolled his eyes and began to slip through the crowded room, frantic to find Nicole imediately.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" Dean snapped, following closely. "What are you looking for?"

"Nicole."

"Why? D'you see something with her?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Not now, Dean? Just find Nicole."

"Alright, whatever." And then a heartbeat later, "Here."

Sam screeched a halt and turned around, honestly surprised to see his brother holding tightly to the arm of a rather shocked Nicole. "Uh, thanks. Nicole, listen, we have to go."

"What? Sam there's still another hour at least-"

"Then cut it short."

"I can't do that, this is my brother's funeral, in case you haven't noticed. I have to stay." Nicole glanced at the man still holding onto her, and jerked her arm free with a glare.

"No, you have to come with us."

"Why? What's so urgent?"

That threw him off for a second. "Uh, well-..uhm,"

"Sam, I like you and all, but if you don't even have a reason for me to leave, I'm not coming."

Sam sighed, exasperated and glanced at his brother for help. Dean just shrugged, smirking the slightest. Sam sighed again, defeat in is soft eyes. "I'll explain it when we get to a hotel, okay? It's-"

"I can't even go back to my dad's house?"

"No, you need to stay with us."

She glanced at Dean, then back to Sam. "Are you kidding?"

"Nicole, please. I don't know if there's time for a fucking argument right now okay?" His voice got harsh and she shut up, surprised by the swear he'd just spat out. "If you just listen and come along, I'll explain I swear."

Nicole hesitated, and instinctively glanced at Dean again. He glanced at Sam for a moment, then back to her, green gaze serious and baritone voice quiet. "It's about the nightmare thing." Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head. "You gotta come with us to hear it."

She paused for just a moment, then nodded. "Alright, let me tell my parents." She turned and disappeared, and the Winchesters stood idly, both on edge.

Dean felt his brother tense, and glanced up. "What?" Sam just reached towards a stack of papers on the table nearby and held one up. Dean scanned it quickly, realizing it was the summary for Thomas and the funeral, then saw what had caught Sam's attention. He looked back up, eyes wide and expressive brows raised in disbelief. "You're not thinking that-"

"Yeah." Sam answered softly, nodding and looking for Nicole again. "It explains my visions. Thomas was born in 1983."


	15. Answers and Disobeying

**4:02 PM**

Nicole let them drag her away from her little brother's funeral. She let them drag her into their stupid hotel room. She did not let them get away without holding up their end of the bargain. "It's not that hard to tell me!" She cried, exasperated as Dean paced in front of the dark television and Sam stood still, looking tired. "You said you would, now explain."

"It's not that simple. It sounds crazy."

"Yeah and none of the rest of this has?"

Sam sighed. "You have to believe me, alright? And you have to answer honestly."

"Answer what?"

The taller man shared a glance with his brother. "We've got a few questions about Thomas."

"Okay, but first tell me about your nightmares or whatever."

"They're not always nightmares." Sam shifted, uncomfortable. "Sometimes I get them in the day."

"Like day dreams?"

"No, nothing like that. Like..visions."

"Visions?"

"Just listen. They're very vivid, usually painful. They show something that's going to happen soon-..actually they show me someone that's going to die. I get the entire death scene of a person, before it happens."

"That's...weird, dude."

"Tell me about it."

"And you're serious about these things?" Sam nodded, and she glanced over at Dean as well. He didn't look happy. "What does this have to do with Tommy?"

Sam took a nervous breath and shifted again. "Well, so far it looks like I get them only of kids born the same year I was - 1983."

"Wait but Thomas-"

"-was born in '83. Exactly. So that explains why I'm having visions of him-"

"Wait, you mean you still are? He's dead though. They should have stopped, right?"

"We don't know if that's necessarily true. Just hear this out, okay?" He waited for her to nod before continuing. "We met another kid that I had visions of, and he..he had an ability, like I do. He was telekinetic. Now his mother died like my mother, so we have that in common as well. It may be an important link to figuring all of this pyschic shit out, but in the mean time - your mother is alive, we just saw that. So there's a break in that little pattern." He stopped and glanced at Dean, then shrugged. "That may not matter. But we need to know - did Thomas ever mention any sort of ability he claimed to have? Anything unusual, or..pyschic-like?"

"I..I don't really..."

"Nicole, anything at all. Maybe when he told you, you thought he was joking or was going crazy or whatever. But if you remember anything like that, we need to know." Sam sat on the bed across from her and leaned forward, soft hazel eyes encouraging.

"Well there was this thing...once, he told me about it.."

"Okay, good. What was it, Nicole?"

She was nervous, worried about what this might mean, if anything. But she had to speak and hope it would help. "A little while ago, Thomas told me he was seeing things. I mean, not like vision-seeing, but he just thought he was maybe going delusional. He claimed that a couple nights before, he had been thinking about going out to get some dinner. And then, just out of nowhere, a freakin burger showed up on his counter." She released a short, nervous laugh. "He said that morning, he had gotten annoyed by the neighbors cat, and it disappeared. He was..making things just..appear and disappear on will, or something. So he said."

"Appearing food and disappearing cats?" Dean glanced at her, then to his brother, criticism tracing his features. "Seems pretty harmless, Sammy."

"Harmless isn't the point, Dean. Nicole, did he show you an example?"

"No, he said he couldn't control it. I just thought he _was_ delusional."

"How long ago did he tell you about this?"

"I'm not exactly sure..maybe, six or seven months ago?" She looked up, catching the glance between the brothers. "What?"

Sam turned back towards her, voice soft. "That's the same time my abilities, and that other kid's, started."

"So you think it's all connected or something?"

"We don't know." He stood with a sigh and ran his fingers through his shaggy dark hair. "It's one hell of a coincidence if not."

"Wait, you still never fully answered my question." Sam glanced over at her, having apparently forgotten she even had a question. "Why did we have to haul ass out of the service?" She paused. "Did you have a vision?"

Sam hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah."

"Well what was it about? Thomas, right? Even though he's dead?"

Sam started to speak, but Dean finally stepped forward. "The thing is, your brother's dead but he's obviously not gone. You've seen him, Sam's seen him, so the bastard's obviously still around."

"Watch it, Winchester." Nicole growled, but he ignored her.

"So if he's still around, still impacting the living's lives, it's probably enough for Sam here to still have visions about him."

"Well then what did you see?"

Both Dean and Nicole faced the younger man now, neither of them having yet heard what he'd seen to force them out of the funeral home so quickly. Sam took a nervous breath and started. "I saw a person walking out a hotel room and down a street at night. They went up to this house, and then went inside even though nobody was there. It was dark, but when the person turned around, I saw who it was." The other two in the room watched him expectantly. "It was you, Nicole."

"Woah, what?" She stood, no longer able to handle sitting calmly.

"Wait so all you saw, Sammy, was this chick walking into a dark house at night?" Dean stared, obviously wondering what the hell the problem was. "That's it?"

"Remember I don't get visions unless they're involved with Thomas."

"Well did you see the kid?"

"..no."

"So you tore us out of that service just because of a damn vision that probably doesn't mean anything?!" Nicole snapped, taking up Dean's position in pacing.

"No," Sam tried to calm the anger he just flared up in the room. "In the vision, you were freaked Nicole. You went straight into this dark house, like you knew it, and you were scared. I didn't see Thomas, but I'm guessing you were looking for him or something. So I pulled us out of that service early so we could get here and get our fucking thoughts straightened out, before it comes true." He paused for a breath, his eyes meeting Nicole's. "Because people always die in my visions."

"So I'm going to die?!"

"No, maybe not-"

"Maybe?!"

"It might not be you that dies, Nicole. It could-"

"Oh so someone else dies instead? That's comforting Sam!" She was thoroughly freaked now, first hearing this guy had visions of dead people, then her brother had some fucked up pyschic ability, and now that she or someone else was probably going to die soon. She paced back and forth in front of the beds until a warm hand on her arm stopped her in surprise. She looked up, and then quickly away from the emotionless green gaze, pulling away from the touch. "What did the house look like?" She asked quietly, facing Sam again.

"Uh it had some Halloween decorations still out, and a car parked in the driveway. Oh, uh, the address, I saw it...it was, uhm...1142." He looked up. "Do you know it?"

"Fuck, that's our old house."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah that's the address! We haven't lived there since...well since Thomas turned eighteen, I guess."

"Is that near here?"

"Uh, I think so."

"How near?"

"I'm not sure, it's been a while. Maybe a few blocks? I don't know."

"Either way," Dean interrupted. "Spirits can't touch things or people, isn't that right?"

"Normally, yeah. But Thomas might not be the normal spirit."

"What does that mean?" Nicole asked.

"I don't really know. Just that he hasn't been violent so far or tried to do anything yet, so maybe it's something else."

"Something else like what?"

"Maybe he's just having trouble letting go, like I said before."

"But he would still have trouble touching something, right?" Dean interrupted.

"Presumably. It's not unheard of for spirits, if they want it enough, to be able to move objects."

"Yeah, like in _Ghost_, right?"

"Yeah, basicly."

"So what do we do?"

Sam sighed and shrugged. "All that we can do, I guess. Camp out here, keep Nicole with us at all times."

"And this is gonna happen tonight?"

"More than likely."

"So if she stays with us, no one dies? The vision doesn't come true?"

"Theoretically."

"Great." Dean smiled sarcastically and sighed, aggravated for some reason.

"I won't go anywhere, honestly." Nicole offered, but Dean just shook his head, even as Sam smiled gently.

"I know you think that, but that's right now. We have no idea what might make you want to go out there, so we have to watch you, just in case."

"So I can't go anywhere or do anything?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"And I've got you two watching me all night, even when I freakin' sleep?"

"Don't worry Nicole, we'll keep a good eye on you." Dean commented, smirking and winking.

"Ugh, my god. This is such bullshit." She groaned and fell back, laying down and staring at the ceiling.

**1:34 AM**

_Cold, dark, suffocating...held under, forced up...cold, warmth, fighting....blue eyes, green....water in her lungs, then icy air....a grip around her throat and lips forming a word...damn she knew the word....why? What could it mean?...under again....weight in her chest, pain in her limbs....freezing water, icy air...darkness and cold....images across her vision again...steel cages..guns..snow..red snow..hotels..beds..darkness..a figure..warmth..embrace....and then she was snapped back into the hellish cold...blue eyes seemed angrier now...word again...she knew it-_

Something woke her up. Not that she was disappointed or anything to be drug out of a nightmare again, but she would have liked to sleep. Something did wake her up though, and she briefly recalled Sam and Dean's warning about not going anywhere without one or both of them. But she wasn't going anywhere, so it was okay. She just slid out of bed and looked around the room, her gaze catching on the light beside an empty chair. Shouldn't one of the guys have been in the chair, keeping watch? She then noticed the faint light coming from underneath the bathroom door and rolled her eyes. Of course. Nicole stepped quietly towards the dark window and brushed aside some of the curtain. She didn't see anything in the darkness for a moment, until motion caught her attention. She stared. About twenty yards away, stood Thomas. He stared back at her, then gestured gently with his head for her to come to him. Nicole paused - this is what Sam had seen coming. So she shook her head. Thomas' blue eyes grew deeper with sadness and he gestured again weakly, pleading without sound for her to come.

Nicole turned and watched the bathroom door, wondering how much longer it would be till whomever was in there came out. Not long, surely. She wasn't going anywhere either, just stepping out to tell Thomas to leave, be at rest, whatever. Just to tell him he couldn't stay here. Nicole thought only half a second more, and then soundlessly slipped out the door.


	16. One Word

**I'm so sorry for how short this chapter is, but I wanted this scene in two parts and liked the ending I had on this one. The next chapter will be up shortly, and hopefully make up for the simplicity of this one! :)**

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**1:37 AM**

Nicole quietly the shut door behind her, and glanced around. No one was outside to see her. Her clothes were rumpled with sleep and she was glad she'd had enough sense to step into her shoes before leaving, as she crossed the asphalt of the street. She peered into the darkness, looking for Thomas. She jumped, seeing him several yards away, down the street. He nodded for her to follow, but she shook her head. "Thomas, no. You have to go, okay? You have to..to understand you're dead." His dark blue gaze studied her and he appeared confused, then gestured for her to follow once more. "No Tommy, I can't."

_"Please..just let me say goodbye..I never got to say goodbye.."_

Nicole shivered as the words whispered, carried to her by a breeze. "I can't." She murmured back. "Sam says it's not safe.."

_"I won't hurt you..please.."_

She stared as he began to walk away, down the sidewalk. He looked back at her a few times, silently pleading for her to follow. She took a small step, and he smiled faintly. That was it; she'd wanted so bad to see her little pain-in-the-ass brother smile again, she couldn't help but follow. Alarms went off in her mind, blaring and screaming for her not to do it, and listen to Sam and Dean. Surely they knew more about this kind of thing than she could. But right now they weren't there and she just wanted to see Thomas again, and try to tell him she was sorry for all the things she'd ever said to him, and all the times she hated him. If he was giving her a chance to apologize, she wanted to accept it. And hadn't Dean said that spirits couldn't usually touch anything solid anyway? So she might not be in danger. What if the person that dies in Sam's vision is just Thomas, finally getting to rest? This didn't have to be a bad idea.

Nicole followed, nervous and spooked by the shadows of the night. She gasped and jumped when a cat hissed nearby, and paused as she watched it run off towards dark buildings. Soon, she knew she was at the right place. She knew the old address, and the flower bed out front, and the large bay window, and the dark red bricks. Nicole hesitated, glancing back in the direction of the hotel. The road behind her was dark, and she was cold. She knew it would be smarter to just turn around and get the hell back to the guys, who were probably freaking out at this very moment. But then Thomas appeared again, and seemed to turn to mist as he ghosted through the closed door. She swallowed uncomfortably, and carefully stepped towards the dark house. She touched the cold, brass doorknob and turned gently - it clicked open without problem. Nicole shivered and stepped through, into the dark, quiet inside of the house. She tried to see anything in the darkness, holding her breath to try and hear better as well, until something thumped behind her. She gasped sharply and spun around, not seeing anything in the faint light slipping through the window's blinds. She then saw a shaft of light laying across a small piece of paper with writing that was sitting on a small table. Nicole picked up the note, and read it over. Whoever lived in this house was gone for the week, and it was a reminder to their friend to feed the cat. Another thump, and Nicole's heart pounded in her chest. Then the front door creaked open again, and she saw a shadow. Nicole crept backwards slowly, careful not to bump into anything. The shadow came closer, she could hear the soft footsteps, and Nicole briefly wondered how easily spirits could lie. Lie about her not being in danger. The outlined figure was closer, and she held her breath, until a familiar form stepped completely into the house.

"Nicole?" He asked softly, deep voice a lash of sound against the silence.

"Dean." She breathed and he turned towards her voice. "Over here." She stepped closer, relieved he had shown up and she had some sort of protection now.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, slowly creeping closer in the darkness, until she felt his warm hand against her own, cold one.

"I'm fine. Shit, is that shotgun?!"

Dean looked down at the weapon in his hand, then back up. "Where's Thomas?"

"I..I don't know.."

"I thought we told you to stay in the hotel, no matter what."

"I know, but I couldn't. I thought he needed me and..I need to see my little brother.."

"But you could've gotten yourself killed!" The soft voice quickly turned chiding, annoyed that she couldn't obey his simple command.

"Please, just don't lecture me right now. I'm sorry." She wasn't in the mood to fight, and the comfort of his hand with hers was fading with the angrier he got.

A hesitation of silence, and then, "Okay, fine. We need to go though, now." She nodded and let him lead her back to the front door - only to yelp when it slammed solidly shut. "Shit!" Dean cursed, and let her go to pull at the door with both hands, to no avail. He pounded on it, pulled on the handle again, but it was locked and shut firmly. "Son of a bitch.."

"Dean, did Thomas do that?"

"Yeah."

"So we..we can't get out?"

"Probably not." He strode with surprising ease through the darkness of the empty house, and she followed him to the back door. He pulled on that one just the same as the first, and growled with aggravation when it didn't give.

"What about the windows?"

"Locked too, I'm sure."

"..can we break 'em?"

He stopped, and stared at her for a second. "Good idea." They hurried back into the living room, facing the large window. Dean looked around for a moment, and then grabbed an idle chair. He lifted to throw it, but dropped it with a gasp as he was flung backwards, against the wall.

"Dean!" Nicole cried, and gasped when Thomas appeared a matter of feet away. He just stood there, blue eyes angry, and she had a flashback of her nightmares and how angry he'd been in them.

Dean groaned and stood up slowly, watching Thomas carefully. He cocked his gun, and shook his head when Nicole started to argue. "It's just rocksalt, Nicole. It won't kill anybody." In a flash, he lifted the gun and pulled the trigger, Nicole jumping at the boom. Thomas disappeared in a flash, and Nicole looked around in a panic.

"Where'd he go?"

"I don't know, but we've got to get out of here." Dean grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards the window, aiming with the shotgun again. The gun was torn from his hand as he was slammed against a wall again, crying out in surprise. Nicole jumped back, her eyes searching the dark room for Thomas. He appeared in front of Dean, and grabbed ahold of the man's jacket, throwing him several feet away.

"Thomas! Stop it!" Nicole yelled, but he ignored her. Dean scrambled up and scanned the room quickly for anything he could use as a weapon. Before he could find anything, the force of Thomas' presence hit him again, causing him to stumble backwards. He felt his jacket grasped again, and was picked up easily, then slammed back to the ground. He grunted, and then got a ghostly-foot in his ribs. "Tommy! Please, just stop!"

_"I can't."_

"Yes you can! Please Tommy! Why are you hurting him?!"

_"An eye for an eye." _Dean was thrown into a chair, grunting again when his body split it apart.

"What? Tommy please, leave Dean alone and just talk to me! I can help!" She winced as Dean's body crashed into a lamp, and felt tears prick the back of her eyes when he rolled over and dark blood covered the back of his shirt, from the shattered glass. "Please just stop hurting him!"

Thomas finally paused, his pale figure staring at her with fury in the blue depths, so much like her nightmares. _"Why do you care so much what happens to him? You would rather I be dead than he hurt, is that it?"_

"What? No, Tommy. No that's not it."

_"Yes. It is." _Nicole cried out, feeling her own body thrown to the floor just before an explosion sounded and Thomas disappeared, Dean standing shakily with the shotgun in hand. He sighed and dropped his arm, taking a step towards her and wincing slightly, blood dripping from a cut above his brow.

"Here, come on." He reached down and helped her up, but then they were knocked apart. Thomas was there again, and glared at Dean. It hit her then; Nicole knew the word he'd repeatedly mutely in her nightmare was. She knew the word he'd mouthed time and time again, with fury in his eyes. The name. _Dean._


	17. Saved From the Darkness

**Holy fuck. I just deleted all the rest of the story I had typed up. Well not deleted, accidentally replaced it with a different part of the story so I have ONLY that. I'm on the verge of tears, seriously...I had it all nearly done!! I don't know what to do. Right now, I want to just quit. But I'm going to try not to. Does anyone know of anyway possible, at all, I could get it back? I know there's a way I can reset my computer to a certain time before in the day, and change everything back to how it was then...but God help me if I could remember how...anyway, kind of in the middle of a crisis/mental breakdown at the moment. Sorry if the next chapter updates slowly.....**

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**1:48 AM**

The realization terrified her, as she tried to figure out what the hell it meant. Her dreams weren't coming true, that she was glad to know, but this was freaking her out. Why was Thomas intent on hurting - killing - Dean? What had he ever done? She winced again as Thomas grabbed Dean and threw him at the wall, where the plaster cracked in the shape of his shoulders. "Thomas, please just stop!" She stepped forward and tried to grab his arm, to make him stop hurting the man that had saved her more than once. Her hands passed through cool air and Thomas vanished, only to reappear a few feet away. "Why are you doing this?!"

"_Because he's the reason I'm dead."_

"What? No, Tommy, he helped me try to save you!"

The blue eyes stared at her angrily. _"No. If you're on his side.."_ Her little once-harmless-brother looked over at the man on the floor, who was just climbing back to his feet. _"You deserve it too."_

"Deserve what? Thom-" Nicole was cut off when an invisible grasp appeared around her throat. God, no. That was a dream. She gasped for air, collasping to her knees. "Thomas-..please-..."

_"Why are you defending him? Can't you see what he's done?"_ Thomas stepped closer to her angrily, focused solely on her now.

"He didn't..do anything, Thomas...he's the reason I knew-...knew where you..were..." Nicole tried to explain and plead, her own hands holding her throat to try and release the invisible hold choking her.

_"He distracted you. Got you locked up. And got me killed."_

"That's not what-" They were all interrupted by a loud bang on the front door, and turned to find the cause of it. Another bang, and another, then it broke open and Sam stumbled inside. He stared at the scene before him for a moment, then lifted his own shotgun with a curl of his lip. A shot rang out, and Thomas dissolved, along with the lack of air getting to Nicole's lungs.

"Nicole, are you alright?" The tall man asked, before noticing his brother struggling to get back to his feet. "Dean!"

"Careful Sam," Dean grunted as he was helped upright again. "This is one determined son of a bitch."

"I just got him with the rock salt."

"Trust me, he'll be back." Dean winced as he tried to limp over to Nicole. "Do you know what he wants?"

She shook her head, frightened. "I..I don't...he has something against you, is all I know."

"Well I figured that part out."

"God, are you okay?" She stepped closer to him, gently touching his shoulder in concern.

"I'll live."

"So how do we get rid of him?" Sam interrupted.

Dean glanced at Nicole for a moment, then shrugged - followed by a wince. "He's one angry mother. We'll probably have to salt and burn."

Sam nodded, but Nicole panicked. "Woah, salt and burn? You mean like, his corpse? That's insane. And..and disgusting."

"It's what has to be done."

"Isn't there any other way?"

Dean and Sam exchanged a look, and Sam sighed softly. "Well it's possible if we can just give him what he wants, or get him to peace somehow, he'll leave. But the chances of that happening are not very high."

"Well let's try it at least!"

"Do you even know what he wants?"

Nicole hesitated, glancing nervously at Dean and swallowing uncomfortably. "I..I think he wants Dean dead."

They Winchesters paused at glanced at each other in surprise, before Dean turned back to Nicole. "Why the hell would he want that?"

"I don't know, that's what I was trying to ask him!"

"Well he's not getting me dead."

"I know, but maybe if I can talk to him, I can find out why he wants you dead and change his mind...do you think that would work?"

The brothers discussed it silently, exchanging expressions before Sam faced Nicole again. "It might."

"Then let's try it. We just gotta find him-" She yelped in surprise when Dean was thrown back several feet, and Sam was tossed against a wall. They both fell with heavy thuds, and Sam rolled over with a groan.

"Looks like that won't be a problem."

Thomas appeared beside Sam and grasped his jacket, heaving him across the room to hit another wall with a crack, before dropping with a grunt. He whirled around to hit Dean in the jaw once, twice, and then pulled him up and slammed his knee into his ribs. Dean grunted and spat out a spot of blood, before being thrown into another chair. He moved slightly, body beaten and tired of trying to get back up.

"Thomas please! Stop! Just tell me why you're doing this!" Nicole cried, but she was ignored as Thomas picked up the fallen shotgun Dean was reaching for, and smashed it into the man's shoulders. "Dean!! Thomas, please, please just tell me why!" She was nearly in tears, the abuse to both the Winchesters hitting her hard. They were bloody and bruised, broken, and it was her fault, and she couldn't do anything. Wincing as Thomas picked up Sam with unrealistic ease, and threw him down hard enough to crack the floorboards, Nicole looked around frantically for something to stop Thomas. She spotted one of the shotguns, and lunged towards it. She lifted the heavy thing, and although having no idea how to use it, aimed it at Thomas, who was holding Dean up off the ground by his throat.

"Tommy, please. Let him go." The ghostly spirit of her little brother looked over at her, dark eyes studying the metal barrel in her hands before squeezing tighter on Dean's throat. Nicole winced and bit her lip, trying to shut out the torturous sound of Dean straining for breath. "Please.." She pleaded, water dripping slowly from her eyes. "Just talk to me. Let him go, and talk to me."

_"Let him go so he'll live?"_

"No, he doesn't have to, but just let me talk to you. Without someone being hurt." Nicole glanced nervously over at Sam, and was relieved to see he was smart enough to stay on the ground and let her try to sort this out. "Please just let him go for now."

Thomas glared at the man in his grasp and made a sound like a growl, before dropping him. Dean fell with a solid thud and gasped for air, wincing as he did so. Nicole tore her eyes away from him and focused back on Thomas, who was staring intently at her. _"Talk."_

She bit her lip, not fully sure what to say. What is there to say to your dead brother, who's come back as some fucked up angry spirit and is trying to kill people? "Why are you so angry, Tommy?" She tried to keep her voice gentle, hoping it would urge out more answers and less violence.

_"I was murdered, Nicole, and you didn't stop it."_

"I tried! I searched for days! Only because of these two did I ever even find you."

_"But not soon enough, I'm still dead."_

"I know! I know, Tommy, and I'm sorry...I hate myself for not getting to you sooner, but I did all I could.."

_"No. You let this,"_ He swiftly kicked Dean in the gut, getting a grunt and spit of blood in return. _"Distract you."_

"He didn't distract me Tommy, he helped. He helped me find you, and saved my life."

_"But did he help you save mine?"_ Thomas' dark blue eyes flared.

"Thomas, don't you see that if it wasn't for him and Sam, I never would have even found you? You would have died anyway, and I would have never even known! I might have died too." She paused, desperate. "Is that what you want? Me dead too?"

The angry glare of her brother softened slightly, and he glanced down before meeting her eyes. _"No, you're alive. You're supposed to stay that way."_

"Then Tommy, don't blame Dean for what happened to you. He only wanted to help save you and get you home. And he kept me alive, too. So why do you hate him?"

He looked down at the bloody body below him, and seemed confused. _"I....don't."_ He looked back up, into Nicole's eyes again. _"I hate myself."_

"What? Tommy, that's crazy-"

_"I was the one bothering you, so you sent me outside. I was walking around, and got myself caught. I shouldn't have strayed so far.."_

Nicole swallowed, finally lowering the gun she was still grasping. "It's not your fault, Tommy. It's not anyone's fault."

_"I'm still dead."_

"Yes, and that can't change. But that doesn't mean you have to kill others. Right?" She asked hopefully.

_"Right."_ Thomas glanced down at Dean, then over at Sam, sympathy in his dead eyes. _"I'm sorry."_

Dean nodded, a thick stream of red pouring out of his mouth. "Not a problem." He answered sarcastically, and then winced as he rolled onto his back again.

"I forgive you Tommy, we all do. But you need to go now; you can't be here."

_"I won't hurt anyone anymore."_

"I know but you still can't be here." She swallowed, trying to hold back her emotions. "You're dead. You have to stay that way. Please."

Thomas stared at her for a moment, and then flickered. _"Goodbye."_ The image flickered again, and then disappeared entirely.

Nicole watched the blank space for a moment but nothing happened, Thomas didn't come back. She let loose a breath and then jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up, and saw Sam's gentle expression carefully watching her. "Hey." She started weakly.

"Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll make it."

"You sure?"

She glanced up at his dark concerned gaze and smiled faintly. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I'm fine too."

They both looked over at the strained voice that had just spoken and Nicole covered her mouth with a hand. "God, Dean!" She dropped down beside him and felt her eyes burn at the blood and bruises covering his face and body. "Oh god..."

"Nah, I'm fine." He tried to smile and brush her off, but winced.

"Sam?!" Nicole looked up, frantic, at the younger brother and he nodded.

"I'll go get the car." He headed towards the front door, picking up their guns as he went.

"God, I'm sorry." Nicole whispered, her hands tracing over Dean's body, checking to see if anything was broken. Satisfied after a moment there he wasn't exactly broken, just bruised and beaten, she gently held his face in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"I'll live, trust me." He smiled crookedly and it forced a smile on her face as well. "So this is what Thomas wanted huh?"

"I..I guess so. I'm so sorry."

"I don't," He grunted and winced, trying to sit up better. "..blame you. It's not like everyone else doesn't want me dead, either."

"You're that popular, huh?"

"Most of the time."

Nicole tried to faintly smile, and wiped away some of the blood from his temple. "You look terrible."

"Thanks."

"Should we get you to a hospital?"

"Nah, I just need to clean up and rest."

"But what if something's cracked or you suffered head truama or-"

"Trust me, I'll be fine. Sam and I...this isn't exactly the first time one of us has gotten the sharp end of the stick." Dean smiled crookedly again, green eyes tired.

Nicole brushed back some of his short, bloody and sweaty hair with a sigh. "You guys are crazy."

"Can't help what the job calls for."

"Thank you, by the way. If it wasn't for you guys, I don't know what would have happened with Thomas."

"Well given the apparent circumstances, we probably would have gotten a lead about an angry, terrorizing spirit anyway, then had to come and salt and burn the remains. So you still would've met me." He flashed a white smile, bright against the darkness and battered features. "But who ever said peaceful wasn't a nicer way out?"

"Definitley true." She sighed again and looked down, at Dean's bloody knuckles and the dark floor.

"Something wrong?" He asked, surprising gentleness in his baritone voice. She didn't answer and he shifted, a low grunt escaping from the pain. "Nicole?"

"It's just.." She bit her lip for a second, then decided there was no serious harm in continuing. "There's something I didn't tell you, about my nightmares."

"Yeah."

"You knew?" She glanced up, and he nodded slightly. "Not surprising I guess. But see when they got the point where Thomas was..was holding me under, there was something else there."

She didn't go on for a moment, and Dean felt the need to encourage her. "Something like...?"

"You." She answered simply, not meeting his gaze, staring at the battered hand she was holding on to. "Barely for a while, you were there. You were..trying to save me, from Thomas. Eventually things got worse and then you were there more," She swallowed and shifted, uncomfortable. "You were trying to help me out of the water, and also get Thomas off. And, uh, Thomas kept repeating this word, but I could never hear it. I didn't know until tonight that it was..it was your name." She stopped and finally glanced up, frightened and uncomfortable.

Dean's dark olive gaze studied her, thinking, and he said nothing. Nicole grew increasingly nervous, and opened her mouth to apologize or ask what he thought, or something, but he leaned forward and pressed his mouth against hers before she got a sound out. His lips moved gently with hers, encouraging and telling her it was okay. The kiss was strange, bloody, and she could taste the bitter, metallic flavor of it. Dean was aware and kept it short, flashing a slight grin when he saw the mark of blood he'd left on her lips and chin. He brushed his thumb and forefinger across her mouth to wipe it away, but didn't apologize, just glanced up with her when Sam came back in. As Nicole and Sam helped him to his feet, Dean managed to catch her still-stunned eyes and smile charmingly.

"Good thing this wasn't your dream - you'd be screwed."


	18. Awkward Situations

**_Saber Apricot_, thanks so, so much for the support, it was honestly needed. I took me forever to finally start re-writing this, just because it felt so much like a lost cause and too much work that I didn't think I could do right again. So far though it's going okay, if just slow. I think what I'm going to do is post this, and then sort of take a break from posting, to try and flat out finish the story. Shouldn't be too long, a few weeks maybe, depending on my motivation and what I've got going on personally. So this will be the last update for a while...now this chapter isn't terribly important, but it depends how you look at it. Things just start moving a bit between Nicole and Dean...let me know what you all think :)**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**9:47 AM**

Nicole jumped awake, but couldn't say why. There had been no nightmare - a relief, for sure - and she didn't hear anything. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around the room tiredly, only to jump to the side when something moved beside her. She tried to get out of the bed and suceeded only in falling to the floor with her head and shoulders with a thud, her legs still twisted in the white bed sheets. The figure beside her moved again, and then Dean's tired head appeared. His short hair managed to be tousled and sticking up in places, while his green eyes were half open, still tired. He yawned and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing? That's my bed."

"We shared last night, remember?" He answered, falling back onto his back and sighing. Nicole tore her legs from the fabric and clambered up, eyeing the relaxed Hunter carefully. The white hotel-bed sheets covered up to his waist, where from there the light, button-up t-shirt he wore was open, revealing a smooth chest decorated with bruises. Nicole tore her gaze away and forcued on his face, the cut above a brow and bruise across a cheek, swallowing uncomfortably.

"We shared?"

The jade-green eyes opened again to study her teasingly. "Having a small dose of amnesia? We didn't share like that, no worries." The glinting eyes closed again, but a trace of a smirk lingered on his lips. "You can relax."

Nicole nodded and looked around the room again. "How are you holdin' up?" She asked casually, pretending not to notice him watching her.

"Well enough, I just need some rest."

"Are you sure we shouldn't get you to a hospital? What if something's broken, or you've got some sort of head truama, or-"

"Nicole. I'm fine." He cut her off, smiling faintly. "Trust me, this isn't the first time Sam or I have gotten the sharp end of the stick. Just give me a few days to rest, and I'll better before you want me to be."

"Believe him." Sam spoke, stepping out of the bathroom, dressed, but shaking out his damp, dark hair. "It's true."

Nicole glanced over at the younger man and smiled briefly. "How are you feelin', Sam?"

"Better than Dean, for sure. I just got tossed around a bit. How about you?" The slight brows pulled down at the edges, concerned, as the grey-brown eyes softened. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah." Nicole nodded hesitantly. "I think I'm as good as can be expected right now." She forced a smile for show, and glanced down.

Sam simply nodded, glancing over at Dean who shrugged. "Anyway, who wants breakfast?"

"Here here." Dean imediately replied, flashing a quick grin before wincing faintly, and pressing a hand to his side.

"Nicole?"

"Uh," Nicole paused, then noticed the empty sickness of her stomach. She'd hardly eaten since Thomas disappeared, not to mention since he died. "Absolutely."

"Alright, I'll run a get somethings." Sam swiped up Dean's car keys from the table and glanced between them both. "I'll be back in a few."

Nicole nodded as he disappeared out the door, and ran her hands through her hair with a sigh. She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the cold water, letting it run for a moment before catching a cup of it in her hands and tossing it across her face. The cold was a shock, exactly what she needed. It refreshed her, woke her up and washed away the night before. She cupped more of the icy water and this time held it to her mouth, using it to clean out the faint taste of sleep from her tounge. Done with her personal-wake-up, Nicole looked into the mirror and made a face, before turning away and going back to the main room. She pawed through the small bag she had with her and dug out her brush, before running it through her hair.

"Nicole?" Dean's deep voice broke the quiet.

"Hm?" She replied absently, continuing to brush through her hair.

"Are you sure you're okay after last night?"

Nicole stopped with the brush and turned around, staring at the man sitting in the bed before her with a puzzled expression. "Why?"

"I just don't think most people would be over the fact their brother just, y'know, sort of haunted them, that easily. You don't seem as okay as you told Sam."

"I never told him I was okay."

"Well you don't even seem like whatever you did tell him."

Nicole continued to stare the man before her, before shaking her head and turning to look at the light seeping through the covered window. "What other choice do I have, y'know? Tommy's gone, end of story."

"So you're okay with the haunting-thing?"

"Yes." She heard no reply, and turned back to Dean, whom was watching her, unconvinced. "You want to know what _is_ bothering me?" Dean raised his eyebrows in a sort of _"duh"_ expression. Nicole shook her head again, and smiled faintly. "The fact that he wanted to kill you."

Dean nodded slightly, slowly, as if the answer genuinely surprised him. The jade-green eyes roamed the room for a moment, before finally flicking back to her face questioningly. "You're bothered by that why?"

Nicole shrugged, quickly dropping her dark blue gaze. "I don't know. Shouldn't I be bothered by the fact my dead little brother wanted to kill anyone, in general?"

"Well, true." He studied her a moment more, then smirked, green eyes lighting up with realization. "Wait, so you're bothered by the fact your brother wanted to kill _me_?" He laughed shortly, and Nicole would never have admitted she was actually glad to hear it, a sound of cheer while she felt like she did. "I knew it."

Her brows pulled down in confusion. "Knew what?"

The Hunter's grin was full-fledged now, unable to control himself. "You can't help it - you dig me."

Nicole curled her lip and wrinkled her nose. "Oh, come on Dean! Grow up, please."

He chuckled warmly, still grinning. "I don't blame you." Nicole turned away with a shake of her head, and crossed her arms. "Come on, don't pretend it's not true." He paused, but she didn't answer. "Nicole? Don't be so touchy." He chuckled again, but still got no reply. "Aw, come on. Nicole? Please, turn around? Please?" He waited a moment more and then saw her shoulders drop, and she turned around to face him, features hard.

"What, Dean?" She asked sharply, dark eyes glaring, annoyed.

His eyes softened and his brows drew back in apology. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think it was that big of a deal." She didn't answer. "Really, I'm sorry."

Nicole heard the sincericty in his deep voice and was honestly surprised to hear it. Her tense stance relaxed and she opened her mouth to speak, but found the words suddenly choked in her throat. More light had spilled through the curtains and now lay across the lower part of Dean's chest and his covered thighs, but it brought his entire self into new perspective. The disorderly short brown hair, the worn olive-green eyes, the faint spatter of stubble across his jaw, the smooth lips, broad shoulders, and the slice of bare, smooth chest slipping out from the open shirt. She made as if to speak again, but couldn't remember what to say, and turned away. She took a breath to clear her stupid mind, but jumped slightly when Dean's deep velvet voice broke the quiet again.

"Nicole?" She didn't answer, didn't feel she needed to. "Come here." The words were whispered, and she turned towards them. The expression on Dean's face was one she didn't recognize and it made her uneasy, so that she didn't reply or obey. "Come here." He repeated and gestured with his head for her to come towards him. Nicole stepped forward, closer to the bed, but stopped at the edge of it, on the opposite side of the Hunter.

"What do you want?" She asked quietly, nervous for some reason.

"Just for you to be beside me." He answered simply, and held out his hand. "Come on."

Nicole hesitated a moment more, and then grasped his large, rough hand and crawled onto the bed beside him. She sat several inches away, stiff and uncomfortable, but Dean wouldn't have that. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, wincing slightly and his breath hitching, still stiff and sore. They sat shoulder to shoulder, and Nicole didn't know what to do, or why she had done anything in the first place.

"What do you want, Dean?" She asked again, and jumped in surprise when his long fingers ran down her wrist, to play in her palm. He didn't answer, and she turned to look up at him. His light green eyes were just inches away, and she got the sensation again that he could see straight into her, see her thoughts and emotions and everything. It was unnerving and she bit her lip uncomfortably, only to see the soft eyes of the Hunter drop to her mouth and gaze at her hungrily. Nicole didn't know what happened at that moment, but she tilted her head up slightly and pushed herself up the few inches to meet her lips with Dean's.

He seemed as surprised as she was for a moment, but was quick to respond. His mouth moved readily with hers, and one hand lifted to slip under her hair and cradle her neck. Nicole's eyes had slid closed at this point, and she could feel the faint scrape of his stubble against her cheeks. Only when her own hand raised to touch the warm skin of his face did she pull away. Dean watched her quietly, his hand still against her skin, and he waited. Nicole didn't look in his eyes again, just took a breath and let it out heavily.

"Sorry."

"Sorry?" Dean asked quietly, and she could feel his hot breath on her face.

"I can't do this."

"Can't?"

"I won't do this."

"Why not?"

"Because it's-...I...I don't even know you."

"Nicole," He smiled briefly. "We've only been stuck with each other for about a week but we've been kidnapped together, attacked by an angry ghost together, and taken care of each other fairly well. I think that's enough to know me pretty well."

"But, I just..I..." Her voice trailed off as her dark blue eyes wandered the room behind the man beside her. She really had no reason, anymore. After all, Thomas was said and done, and Sam was gone for the time being. What reason was there not to?

"Just try it." Dean whispered, as if he heard her thoughts. "What could happen?"

Nicole didn't answer or move, until she felt a touch under her chin, strong enough to turn her face back to Dean's. The green eyes were staring again, working their unknowing persuasion, and he leaned forward. Her eyes closed again when his smooth lips met hers, and she relished in the warmth eminating from him. Her body loosened and he felt it, the giving in to him, as his kiss grew stronger, more convincing. Nicole sighed into his mouth and moved smoothly to straddle his waist, as both of his hands wove into her hair. His tounge pressed gently for permission and she gave it - he tasted of sleep, and warmth. Nicole ran her hands over his strong shoulders and then down his smooth stomach, sliding aside the shirt. Dean grunted faintly when her fingers pressed a bruise, but he only kissed her stronger, even more eager. She was loosing her inhibitions and restraints, the comfort of his arms and mouth causing her sadness and faint guilt to fade. His lips were just moving to her throat, when she jerked away, hearing a key in a lock. They froze, both looking in the direction of the door, until the sound came again and Nicole slid off Dean, back to her seat beside him. She tried to get away, but his long fingers grasped her wrist. She glanced up in alarm, but he only smirked. She wasn't going anywhere.


	19. Going, Going, Gone?

**10:13 AM**

The door opened, and Sam stumbled in with a couple bags and a tray of coffees. He kicked the door shut and then paused, glancing between his brother and Nicole, taking in their too-innocent expressions. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Nicole spoke before Dean could even think about it, and tugged her wrist from the older man's hand. "Do you need help?"

"Uh, well-" Sam hardly got to speak before Nicole had climbed off the bed and hurried over to take the bags from him. "Sure."

"What all did you get?" She lifted the bags and acted as if she could see through the white plastic.

"Uh, just some breakfast things from a mini mart. And some drinks."

Nicole set down the bags on a table and began pulling out the contents. "Great, these are great. You're really great." She flashed Sam a bright smile and went back to emptying the bags. Sam raised his eyebrows in confusion and glanced at Dean, who just shrugged.

"Hey Nicole, am I gonna get somethin' or are you planning on keeping it all for yours-" Dean was cut off mid-sentence when Nicole flipped a foil-wrapped breakfast sandwich at his head. He caught it smoothly and grinned, straight teeth bright and green eyes crinkling. "Gotta be faster than that." Nicole ignored him and pulled out her own sandwich, as Sam pulled a coffee from the tray and handed it to his brother.

"So what were you two up while I was gone?" He asked casually, for sake of conversation, but Nicole grew nervous.

"Uh, nothing. Talking. That's it."

Sam flicked her a curious look but nodded. "Okay.." None of them said anything more for a moment as they ate in silence, until Sam swallowed a bite of doughnut and cleared his throat. "Nicole, do you have plans for after this?"

"After.."

He gestured vaguely around the room. "This. I mean, we're done with the Hunt and all, so we'll be heading off somewhere else soon. What are your plans now?"

"Uhm, well I was thinking-"

"You'll just go home, won't you?" Dean interrupted, and she shrugged. "Where is 'home' for you anyway? You don't live here, do you?"

"No, uh, I live in New York."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Long way from home."

"I was here for Thomas' birthday and a late birthday for my mom. Then all of the disappearing things..." She shrugged again, then swallowed nervously. "But I don't know if I'm gonna go home."

"Where else would you go?"

"Uh..actually, I.." She tried to get out her thoughts, rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably.

"What, Nicole?" Sam asked softly, warm hazel eyes curious.

"I, uh...I want to learn about Hunting." She spat it out, then bit her lip and waited. For what, she wasn't sure, but something told her at least one of the men wouldn't take to this idea kindly.

Dean snorted. "Yeah, okay."

"What, you don't think I can?"

"No, I don't think you will." He took another bite of his sandwich.

"What do you mean? I want to - I will."

"No you won't."

"Why not?"

"Because..you can't. You're not Hunting."

"Excuse me?" Nicole furrowed her brows in confusion. "You're seriously telling me what I can and can't do?"

"Uh, yeah."

"You can't do that! I want to Hunt, Dean."

"Nicole, it's dangerous. You're not doing it."

"You two do it!"

"We were raised to do it, Nicole. It's not like we had a choice."

She looked over at Sam in desperation, not having expected _this_ kind of disagreement. Caution, warnings, yeah; flat-out refusal to let her Hunt at all? No.

Sam's eyes widened and brows drew back in innocence. "I-...uh..Dean, isn't that a little harsh?" He tried weakly.

Dean sighed and balled up the foil from his meal, then rested it on the small table beside him. "Sammy, come on, you know as well as I do that she'll just get herself killed. It's not a good idea."

"It's not like I'm just gonna run out there half-ass with a shotgun or something, Dean! I said I want to learn about Hunting. I'm smart enough to learn about what I'm doing, before I do it."

"And how would you learn?" He remarked, and Nicole made a weak gesture to him and Sam. He shook his head. "No, no way. We don't have the time. We're busy looking for our Dad, in case you forgot? We don't have the time to mess with teaching you how to Hunt."

"Well then you've got to know someone that can!"

"We don't. So no, you're not Hunt-"

"Dean." Sam interrupted quietly.

The older Winchester just shook his head, avoiding Sam's gaze. "The last thing we need is you to get yourself killed, as if things haven't come close enough to that already. Do you not remember last night, what nearly happened? That was easy, for Sam and I. We're used to that. You'd be dead in less than a week. This isn't-"

"Dean." Sam repeated.

"-some thing that you can turn on and off. If you don't Hunt things, they will Hunt you. And if you're not damn good, they will kill you. Sam and I are practically like magnets for these sons of bitches anymore, and if-"

"_Dean_." Sam spoke louder, firmer, and got his brother's attention. "There is Bobby."

Dean didn't reply for a moment, just silently debated with Sam through expressions before replying. "No. Bobby doesn't need this."

"Who's Bobby?" Nicole finally spoke again, but the men ignored her.

"What else does he have to do, Dean? He can teach her, he can train her, he can keep her safe. It's not such a bad idea, and you know it."

"It is definitely a bad idea, Sam, of course it's a bad idea."

"Who's Bobby?" Nicole asked again and Sam glanced at her.

"A friend. He's a Hunter, one of the best."

"He's not up to be hired help, either." Dean interrupted.

"Dean, why can't I Hunt?" Nicole asked pleadingly, blue eyes wide. "I understand it's dangerous, and I could get killed, but how can I _not_ Hunt? After what happened with Thomas, now that I know monsters are real, how can I ignore that? Do you expect me to go on with my life, just like normal?"

"No, but I expect you to try to."

"Dean, please. I need this. After last night, and Thomas...I need to Hunt."

"It won't bring Thomas back."

"No, but I know I'll be saving other peoples brothers, siblings, family." She bit her lip, dropping her eyes for a moment. "Dean I still blame myself for what happened with Tommy, from the very beginning at the hotel, to last night. I blame myself for putting you and Sam in danger. But maybe if I can figure out how to prevent things like that from happening to other people..I'll be okay."

Dean was shaking his head half way through her speech. "You can't do that Nicole. You can't Hunt out of revenge. Half of the monsters out there will be able to use your problems against you anyway. And trust me, no matter how much you take your anger and guilt and regret and pain out on those damned things, it won't do shit to help you. Better yet, it'll just turn back on you worse than before. You can't take your emotions out on killing, no matter how much good you think you're doing. It'll eat at you and eat at you and make things worse, until you don't even know what to do anymore other than Hunt. And if the craziness up here," He tapped his temple with two fingers. "Doesn't get to you first, the luckiest demon or werewolf or other un-godly creature will. One way or another Nicole, this job _will_ kill you."

Sam glanced over at his brother in surprise at the intensity of his speech, curiosity fueled by the cold truth he detected behind the words. He opened his mouth to ask, but thought better of it for the time being and turned back to Nicole instead. "He's right, Nicole. Exaggerated a bit, maybe, but basicly right. There's always the chance of not seeing the next day with this kind of thing."

"I know." She answered easily. "Just give me a chance, please."

"Damnit, no, Nicole!" Dean growled and shook his head in aggravation. "Why can't you just leave this alone? In fact - do just that. We're done with the Hunt, your little brother is gone, end of story, now we part ways. We need to find our Dad anyway."

"..what are you saying?"

"I'm saying _leave_. I'm saying I'm not going to get you killed, or have your life on my shoulder's anymore, okay? I just..I'm not. We're not."

"But-.." She stared between the two men, Dean glaring and Sam watching the floor. "At least point me to Bobby."

"No. You're not Hunting, because I won't have you risk your life for something you don't even understand. You should go."

Nicole opened her mouth to speak, and protest, but nothing came out because she had no other argument. Dean would not be convinced, and Sam had little pull against his older, more experienced brother. She gazed pleadingly at them both, wondering how the hell Dean could be so..wonderful, one moment, then cold and uncaring the next. Neither of the men said a word, Dean's hard jade eyes just stared demandingly. Nicole sighed and nodded, reaching past Sam to pick up her small bag, not even checking to see that everything was in it. "I guess this is it, then."

Sam raised his grey-brown eyes to look at her once more, sympathy and regret lacing his features. His mouth twitched in a faint sad smile. "Maybe we'll see you sometime later." He ignored the glare Dean shot him and Nicole reflected the smile, knowing it wouldn't happen.

"Bye, you guys. Thanks for...everything." Sam nodded, and Nicole took one last look at the two men. Sam, tall, lean, innocent young features sympathetic; Dean, broad shouldered and muscular, olive-colored eyes like stone and jaw clenched in something resembling anger, lips pursed in stubborness. They were both more than she could've asked for in this nightmare of a week, and they disappeared behind the door.


	20. RunIn

**2 days later; 8:53 AM**

Nicole parked the car, leaving the heater on in the cold November weather, but stayed seated for a moment, thinking things over. This was probably a bad idea. After all, both Sam and Dean hadn't been terribly eager to let her Hunt. Correction - Dean was no way going to go down without a scrap. And she understood their hesitation, to an extent - Hunting was obviously a dangerous job and people got killed. Yeah, so, that was a given, they were Hunting creatures from stories and movies for God's sake. Yet now that the two men had shown her and told her how real it all was, and how scary the world _really_is, they just wanted her to go? They wanted her to get on with her life? Or Dean did, anyway. Sam had seemed a little more accepting to the idea, and was the spark of her hope. She finally stepped out of the car, and went around the side of the small mini mart, and into the small store beside it. She continued to think while grabbing the six-pack of PBR, thinking everything over again. If she could just convince Sam that they didn't need to worry about her and she wouldn't bother them and their wonderful quest for their father(what was the deal with that anyway?), that all she needed them for was to be pointed towards their friend Bobby or some other helpful-Hunter, and then she'd be her own problem. She hadn't asked for them to worry about her anyway, so why should they?

Nicole paid for the beer and went back outside, setting the pack in her backseat before considering one more thing. With a soft sigh, she went into the actual mini mart and browsed the shelves quickly. A sandwich, chips, and why not chocolate? Just as she turned away, the sharp smell of coffee hit her. Nicole was painfully aware then of how cold it was outside, and how much she hated the snow, and paused to fill a cardboard cup with the steaming liquid and she couldn't stop her mind from wandering once more. She wanted to Hunt so bad. So bad it surprised even her. She wasn't sure whether it was the thought of killing something that intrigued her, or perhaps the idea of killing something _evil_, doing something good for people. She refused to believe Dean was right, and she wanted this as a sort of revenge for what had happened with her brother. Hell, it had happened with the Winchesters, too. Then again, they'd both said they were used to that. Could she ever get used to that? Did she really want to? But that didn't matter at the moment - not only did she want to Hunt, she did honestly need it. Finally satisfied with the coffee, Nicole set the items down on the counter. While the clerk rang the items up, the debate in her head continued. It'd only been two days and nights since she'd been practically forced back to her own life, but both of those nights she'd slept badly. It took her forever to get to sleep, and then she woke up several times, only to have to fight to rest once more. Everything in the dark concerned her, any sounds she couldn't identify immediately chilled her blood, and half the people she came across made her uncomfortable - usually for no reason at all. She was paranoid as all hell because she knew what was out there. And she was defenseless against it all. She had to talk to Sam and Dean, just one more time.

The clerk announced her total, and Nicole dug several bills from her jeans pocket and handed them over. A moment more, and she took the change, bag of food and cup of coffee, flashing a brief, distracted smile at the cashier. She turned swiftly and took half a step, only to slam into someone as solid as a wall. The coffee cup crumpled, splashing hot and stinging liquid over both her and the person she'd run into, and the bag in her hand crashed down. "Oh, God-!" Nicole yelped in alarm and rebounded with surprising force, enough to knock her to her butt, almost to her back.

"Sorry 'bout that." A deep, rough voice apologized quietly, and the man extended a large hand down towards her. Nicole took it easily and was lifted swiftly to her feet.

"God, I'm so sorry!" She quickly apologized. "I should've been more careful, and I- oh shit, did I get coffee on you too? I'm so sorry.."

"'s okay. I'm fine." Nicole was about to apoloize again when something stopped her. The man turned away as if to leave, but she instinctively reached out to gently hold his coat sleeve. The man flinched when he saw her move, and paused warily. When he noticed her doing nothing more than stare, he waited surprisingly patiently for her to let his clothing go.

Nicole stared at the soft-spoken man curiously, trying to place the odd sense of familiarity she felt upon seeing him. He was tall, built, with dark hair and shadow across his jaw. His dark brows lined dark eyes, and she could see a number of faint scars hidden among his emotionless features. He was dressed warmly and his clothes looked worn, more so than he himself did. He was a big man and held himself as if he knew he was strong, able to handle any number of things, but yet he seemed uneasy under her spotlight.

"I got somewhere to be, ma'am." He murmured quietly again, and the deep voice held a hidden power. Nicole felt her mind reeling, twisting, burning with the distressing sense she had of knowing him somehow. Then finally his dark gaze, which had avoided her and stared strictly to the side or the ground until this moment, lifted and met her bewildered blue eyes. The look was worn, tired, and his eyes weren't dark brown, but hazel. Like a deep, rich wood, twisted with dark gold, with a slight layer of grey covering the colors beneath. They may have appeared beaten and tired, but underneath lay almost dangerous intelligence, and she could nearly see him calculating her actions. The dark eyes revealed less than they may have seemed, and she got a numbing sensation she was almost used to; the dark hazel stare was in her, seeing her thoughts and feelings and plans and emotions. Familiarity hit like a wave and Nicole practically tore her hand away from the stranger, as if he burned. As soon as she let him go, he turned away and strode silently towards the door.

"S-sorry.." Nicole stuttered nervously, having difficulty finding her voice. "Thought you were..were someone I knew.." Whether he heard her or not, Nicole wasn't sure. But she wasn't going to wait. She jumped nearly a foot when the cashier asked - probably not for the first time - if Nicole wanted a new, not-destroyed-coffee. She declined, and simply grabbed her bag up from the floor, hurrying out to her car just in time to see the man pulling away in a large black truck.

-

She was parked in the lot to the hotel she'd just been in days before, and thinking again. Thinking about what she should say, thinking about what she could expect, thinking about not taking no for an answer. Thinking about the man in the store. His face was a perfect picture in her mind, the stone-like features that she felt had everything she'd observed etched into them, wanting to be seen. The dark eyes that delved into her in an unnervingly familiar way. The deep drawl that held too much intelligence. Letting go of a heavy breath, she finally stepped out of the car. Hopefully the boys were still in the room they'd shared before. Dean had said he would need a bit to rest up, then they'd be gone. If they weren't there, she wasn't sure what to do. Spin into utter, dark, cold chaos? It seemed likely.

It turned out Nicole didn't need to worry and go searching for wandering Hunters, as she stumbled across them arguing beside the Impala just a matter of yards away. They didn't see her for a moment, they were so engrossed in yelling at each other, voices loud and clear in the cold morning. So she stood idle a few feet away and waited patiently, but didn't manage to get a grasp on just what exactly they were fighting about, before Sam noticed her. The younger man did a double take and then grinned, soft grey-hazel eyes crinkling as his bright teeth flashed. "Nicole, hey." Almost immediately after he spoke, the smile dissolved into a cautious expression as he took in her leveled shoulders, before tossing a glance to his brother. "What're you doing here?"

"Uh," She cast a slight look at the older Winchester as well, unsure what to make of his expression. "I just wanted to talk with you guys, before you leave."

"Yeah? What about?" Sam asked innocently, young eyes round and body relaxed as he leaned casually against the black car.

"We're not helping you with hunting, Nicole." Dean cut in, deep voice firm, but tinged with tiredness.

"Can't you please just hear me out?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"Because we've given you an-"

"_You've _given, Dean." Sam interrupted, and cold jade eyes cut out his tongue.

"-an answer. We don't need you getting killed."

"Then I won't get killed."

"Yes you will."

"How can you be so sure? Aren't there any female Hunters in your screwed up world?"

The brothers paused and shared a look, both thinking over the question. They had only heard of a few female Hunters, and they were few and far between. Dean turned back to Nicole, looking even more tired. "Barely, and probably because they all got themselves ganked."

"That's unfair."

"Doesn't matter. Go home, Nicole." He sighed and turned away, to his car.

"Go home to what, Dean?" She challenged, taking half a daring step forward. Sam watched silently. "To more restless nights of sleep, more nightmares, more jumping at anything that moves too fast, more paranoia? Or-"

"You're having nightmares again?" Dean interrupted, the weariness cleared from his features and replaced with suspicion and churning gears.

"Not..exactly." Which was true. She'd had one nightmare in the two nights she'd been separated from the guys, and it wasn't anything like before. Simply a hallway with too many doors, and every time she opened one, something she didn't want to see lay on the other side; cages, a pile of guns, a skeleton, vampire, werewolf, Thomas, Dean. "That's not what-"

"Are you having nightmares again?" Dean refused to let it go.

"No. Not like last time anyway."

"How do you know?"

"I just do, Dean!" She snapped, aggravated that he wouldn't listen to her. "Listen, please." She took a steady breath, and was surprised he didn't speak again, simply watched with hard olive-colored eyes. Olive eyes that seemed to read what she was going to say before she said it. So familiar. "I am losing my mind, just over these past two days. It's like...I know what really is going on out there in the dark, and I'm terrified of it. I'm scared of not being able to defend myself if something comes along, and I feel..guilty, for knowing and not doing anything for other people. I just want to try." The last sentence was quieter, stronger, and each word was separated with enunciation. "Please."

Dean wasn't watching her anymore, just staring past everything with his arms crossed. So Nicole looked to Sam for help. The younger Winchester shrugged slightly, the corner of his mouth pulling up apologetically. This wasn't his argument. "The best you can do is try to forget it all, Nicole." Dean finally spoke, and not the words she wanted to hear.

"What? Are you kidding me? Did you not just hear-"

"I heard, alright? You're not going to get any sort of enlightenment out of this Nicole, so don't look for it." He turned away again, lifting the trunk to his car and then the lid to the arsenal, his hands running assuredly over the items inside before he reached in his jacket and tossed a thick leather journal inside the car. "I know you don't like it, but you-"

"Wait." She interrupted this time and nudged the larger man aside, to peer into the depth of weaponry.

"What are doing?"

Nicole ignored the question and reached behind where the leather journal had fallen, to pull out a small, colored photograph. She studied it for a moment, then shook her head. "God damnit."

"What?" Dean asked, eyebrows raised and green eyes wide in confusion and curiousity. "Nicole, what?"

Nicole held the image out to the brothers, a satisfactory smirk on her face. "What if I told you I'd just seen your father?"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**One of the few perks to having to re-write the last several chapters of this story is in this chapter - the description of John Winchester. I've recently become a huge fan of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, much more so than I was the first time I wrote this chapter, so the adjectives and such in his description are a little more fun, I think :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try to get the next one up sooner!**


	21. Purely Professional Reasons

**Okay, after this chapter there are just two more, and the story is done :) The next chapter is kind of short, but this and the one after(the last one) should make up for it... I really hope every one has enjoyed this story :)**

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* * *

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**9:11 AM**

"You're lying." Dean murmured, after a long moment of staring from both of the men.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are." He flashed a quick, cocky, nervous grin and shook his head. "You're grasping at straws."

"So he's not the man between the two little boys here? ....whom I'm going to guess are you and Sam?" Nicole tilted her head slightly and held the picture up higher, dark blue eyes wide and innocent.

Dean's hard green gaze swept over the image again, and his jaw clenched but he didn't answer. "Yeah." Sam spoke softly, and shifted. "Yeah that's him. Where'd you see him?"

Nicole lowered the picture with a slight smirk. "A mini mart up the ways a bit, little over ten minutes ago."

"Great." The news that they were so close put some life into both of the brothers, and Dean snatched the photograph from Nicole's fingers, slipping it into the journal and then closing both the arsenal's lid and the trunk. Sam smiled softly at Nicole and turned to the vehicle, opening the passenger door. Nicole hesitated though, seeing Dean still standing at the back of the car, with his hands in his pockets and his jaw tight.

"One second, Sam." She excused herself and he nodded, sliding into the car as she went to talk with his older brother. "Dean?" He didn't answer. "You alright?"

He coughed and glanced down, then back up, and faced her. "Fine."

"You sure?"

He just watched her now, pale eyes searching and calculating right into her. Such a familiar gaze. "Did you know right away? When you saw him?"

It took her a moment, but Nicole understood his question and shook her head. "No. I mean, he seemed familiar but I didn't know why."

"Hm." He looked away again, and she studied his features. Hard, trying to be strong, but she knew how desperately eager he was to find his father.

"It was his eyes, you know, I think that I recognized the most. They're just like yours."

Dean didn't reply, other than to study her for a moment more, and when the slightest of smiles hinted across his features, he turned away and slipped into the car.

-

Dean had barely stopped the car before he was out of it, Sam not far behind. Nicole was though and stumbled into the small store a few steps behind them both. Once both of the men's gazes had swept the room and seen nothing, they froze, unsure what to do. Nicole walked slowly to Sam's side, and surveyed the store before looking at Dean. "What'd you expect, him to be here waiting? His footsteps burned into the ground?"

"Shut up!" Dean snapped and strode out of the store in a flash.

Sam looked down at Nicole, then back up, and smiled faintly. "I think we were both praying that luck could be on our side for once, and we'd at least run into him."

Nicole felt bad then, about leading the boys on when she knew they wouldn't find their Dad. But she just needed more time with them, for them to listen, and maybe after this they'd believe she could help them find the missing elder Winchester. "He left shortly after I noticed him." She said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I knew. I was just hoping he'd come back, maybe. Or maybe I don't know what I was hoping." Sam smiled faintly again, and then turned to leave the store, Nicole not far behind.

They found Dean pacing by the Impala, his handsome features hard and focused. When he noticed them - noticed Nicole - the pacing ceased and his aggravation lashed out. "You knew he wasn't here! You knew, and you let us believe he might be anyway! You told us we'd be able to find our father, and look where we are! We are never going to find him!"

"That's not true!" Nicole protested. "There are plenty of other-"

"Do you realize how long we've been looking for him already? Well over six months, by now. And what have we gotten so far? New hunts, a fucking phone call, and now this! Do you understand that next time we find him, it might be too late?"

"Dean-" Sam tried to cut in, but his brother wouldn't have it.

"Hell, we all know he's got to be either running from something bad, or running _to_ something even worse. 'Cause that's just good old Dad." A bitter smile swept across the Hunter's mouth, before it quickly turned into a scowl. "Sooner or later, if we don't find him, whatever it is, is bound to find him first. Dad's good, but no one can escape everything."

"Dean, don't-"

"Let's just go." The older man growled, and tore open the car's door, jumped in, and - a shock to them all - slammed the door shut. The engine started with a roar and Sam glanced apologetically at Nicole before opening a door for her and then jumping in himself, just a moment before his brother slammed on the gas.

The trip was silent, and quick. Nicole shifted nervously in the back seat as trees, buildings, people and other vehicles flew by much faster than they should have. Miraculously, they jerked to a stop unscathed, although Nicole's forceful connection into the seat-belt - and nearly the back of Sam's seat - wasn't exactly pleasant. Dean stormed out of the vehicle barely a second after the car stopped and Sam slowly followed with a sigh. Nicole didn't move for a moment, watching the younger man walk around the front of the vehicle to try and talk to Dean, whom was shaking his head, shoulders tight. The deep murmurs raised and she could nearly make out words as the brothers' jaws tightened and arms jerked in gestures at one another, at the scene around them, at the car and Nicole inside. Finally the exchange ceased and Sam glared down at his shorter brother, hazel eyes narrowed and hard, pulling himself to his full, intimidating height. Dean stood his ground firmly with an even colder jade-green glare, square jaw clenched, lips pursed, and chest rising and falling greatly with the struggle to gain back his breath from yelling. Sam seemed to snap out of the show-down first, and finally turned back to face the car. Nicole stared back, and nearly flinched when Dean's gaze fell on her as well. Sam gestured slightly with his head, and she carefully stepped out of the car.

The world seemed to be on pause for a moment, as Nicole looked between the two men. Dean had returned to glaring at Sam, whom was carefully observing her. Finally the younger Winchester spoke, "We're gonna help you learn to Hunt. Or, actually, Bobby is. But we're..we're gonna get you in touch with him, at least."

She glanced at Dean for a second and saw no difference, so she turned back to Sam hesitantly. "..really? I mean, are you..are you sure? I..can Hunt?"

"Yeah." He seemed slightly less than enthused, and she noticed.

"..what's wrong?"

The innocent features looks tired and beaten as he sighed, glancing at his brother, who had turned away. "It's nothing." Sam forced on a plastic smile that didn't reach his eyes. It barely reached his lips. "We're all just tired."

"Okay.." Nicole wanted to know more, wanted details on their friend Bobby, and maybe even on Hunting already, and about their argument, but more specifically - she wanted to talk to Sam about Dean. "Uhm well do you guys still have the room from earlier, that we all had?"

"Uh yeah, we were just about to check out when you showed up."

"Here, I'll go re-new it if you'd like. Y'know, to give us a day or two to rest up and get shit together..?" Nicole was aware how stupid it sounded, but what other excuse was there? And it wasn't like they had any leads on their Dad.

As if he heard her thoughts, Dean turned to face her. His face held a surprising lack of emotion, just a cool carelessness that almost annoyed her. "We don't have any more time to waste around here. We need to go find Dad."

She couldn't stop herself, "Well it's not like you have any leads."

A flash of anger, and then care-free once again. "Which is why we need to keep moving, keep looking. Or at least look for a new Hunt."

"Dean, this'll only be another day, two max." Sam interrupted gently. "We can spare that and look for a Hunt in the mean time. I need to call Bobby and sort things out with him anyway."

The older man wanted to argue, but just clenched his jaw and shook his head, before turning away. Nicole shifted uncomfortably, and turned back towards Sam. "So I'll go re-new the room if you'll just lend me the room key. I'll pay for it and everything." She added with a try of a smile.

Sam's troubled mouth twitched and he reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and the key-card inside. He held it out to her and then hesitated, glancing at his stoic brother. "I'll come with."

"I can do it mys-"

"I'll come with." He repeated, soft eyes meeting hers with meaning, and she understood with a nod.

"Alright."

"Dean, just take the other key and go back to the room, okay? We'll be there in a few minutes." Sam called to his brother, who had already begun striding away from them both. The young man sighed heavily and turned back to Nicole with a faint, apologetic smile on his lips. "I'm sorry about him."

"No, it's fine. He's just upset about the stuff with your Dad, I get it."

"No, I don't think that's it."

"No?" Nicole looked up at him curiously. "What do you think it is?"

Sam didn't answer for a long moment, just watched his brother walk away, and then shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go."

Nicole followed hesitantly, curiousity sparked. But she bat it down and tried a different manuever to get the young Winchester to talk. "Listen, I am sorry about getting your guys' hopes up and then showing you nothing. I knew he wouldn't be there, I just didn't think you guys would get so excited, I guess."

Sam was shaking his head before she finished speaking, the dark brown shag tossing back and forth across his forehead. "I'm not Dean, Nicole, I heard what you said."

"..what?" She asked, confused.

"I know you never said you could lead us to Dad," He clarified. "Dean probably knows as well, but he heard what he wanted to hear, and when we got nothing, it pissed him off. I don't think he's mad at you though Nicole. He's just mad at himself for getting his own hopes up. This whole search for Dad..it's really getting to him."

"I noticed..."

Sam smiled gently again, grey-hazel eyes soft and concerning as he stopped walking to face her once more. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. About Dean, I mean."

"..what about him?" Nicole asked cautiously, unsure from the look in Sam's eye.

"It's just-...I'm..." The puppy-like features of the boy twisted in confusion to get out the right words, his small mouth pinching in frustration. "Dean, he likes you, y'know." He finally spat out. "He does."

Nicole rolled her eyes, smiling carelessly. "Dean likes a lot of girls, or am I wrong?"

Sam flushed slightly, but shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Dean, he _likes_ you, Nicole. I figured it from the moment we got on this Hunt with you, and still to this point right now."

"What makes you figure so, Sam?" She tilted her head in mock-questioning. He ignored it.

"The...protective way he always watches out for you. The concern he had when you were in the hospital, and when you were having nightmares. The-"

"Wait, he was concerned about my nightmares?"

"Well..yeah. Didn't you know that?"

"Well I, I guess...I mean he seemed...I didn't think he was really..y'know..." Nicole rambled, confused by the churning in her stomach from Sam's explanation.

"I could see it, sometime's he even said it. He was worried about you Nicole, and everything that was going on with you. The way he keeps fighting about not wanting you to Hunt, it's just because he's worried."

"What about, that I'll get myself killed like an idiot?"

"No, he doesn't think you're an idiot Nicole, no matter what he says. Dean has a, uh, odd way of showing emotions." Sam smiled faintly, mind elsewhere. "I think he's just afraid you'll get a life like we have, where no one is really safe around you and - considering your family doesn't know about these things - you'll be somewhat alienated among the people you used to know. I don't think he wants that for you Nicole. I think..well, he might be worried you'll end up alone."

Nicole stared at the young man before her in disbelief, and shook her head, looking away and out across the empty parking lot. Then back. "You're not trying to fuck with me here, are you?"

Sam flashed a brief, white smile. "No, I'm not."

She shook her head again. "I'm...I don't know what you want me to say." She walked slowly towards the hotel building, uncomfortable with the conversation.

But Sam persisted. "Just clarify with me whether or not you feel the same, about Dean. Do you like him?"

"Well, sure I like him..."

"Nicole." Sam chided firmly. "I'm serious." She shrugged for an answer, continually inching towards the building of people. "So you're going to tell me you weren't flattered at all when he first came up to you at that restaurant? Or weren't thankful for him being there when those psychos had you? Or weren't worried when Thomas got the beat-down on him? Nicole? You're going to tell me you feel nothing at all for my brother?"

She was saved having to answer by reaching the building's door in perfect time. She flashing Sam a tight, fakely-apologetic smile and slipped through. He followed slowly, shaking his head at her avoidance of his questioning. "Nicole, come on just answ-"

"Hi, I need to re-new room 136." Nicole ignored him and spoke to the woman at the counter instead.

"Okay, can I see your card please?" The woman asked politely and Nicole handed her the key card. "How long?"

"Two nights."

"Okay.." The woman eyed Sam, then glanced back at Nicole, whom shifted uncomfortably, all too aware of what the woman was probably thinking. "That'll be $62.50 please." Nicole laid down several twenties on the counter, followed by a five. The woman handed her back the change and card, followed by a bright fake smile. "Thank you and have a nice stay." Her eyes trailed up to Sam again, and then quickly back to her work.

"Thanks, you too." Nicole reflected the false, Barbie-smile, and turned away before grimacing. "Did you see how she looked at us? Ugh probably though I was some hooker you were paying for a few 'wild nights'." She shivered. "Disgusting."

Sam smiled briefly, and then remembered he still hadn't received an answer. "Nicole, you never-"

"Please, Sam, not now?"

"Then when?"

"Uhm, never?" Nicole flashed a tight smile and turned away, striding towards their room.

Sam shook his head, smirking at the smiliarity in Nicole and his brother's attitudes towards uncomfortable subjects. "Just yes or no. Because I think either way, you guys need to fix things.."

"Fix _what_ things Sam? There's nothing to fix."

"Oh so you're not bothered at all by his freakish control over you Hunting? Or his sudden mood-swings?" Sam waited for an answer, and received none. "Exactly. So just-"

"Please, Sam." Nicole whirled around and stopped walking, her dark blue eyes staring in his hazel ones with such a force it stopped him in his tracks. "Just let it go, okay? There's no reason to talk about any of this because we all know nothing can or will happen, and doesn't need to, okay? So ignore who-likes-who-and-why, it doesn't matter. I needed you two around for professional reasons, and you guys the same for me. As soon as you can get ahold of that Bobby guy, we'll be out of each others' hair. So just let it be. Please."

She turned around again and continued the last few yards to their room, before disappearing through the door. Sam stood in his place for a moment more, until it began to lightly snow, covering what faint tracks he and Nicole had left behind.


	22. An Attempt At Answers

**Sorry for the much delayed update, things got busy and I lost track of time. This is a shorter chapter than the last one, but the next is also the 'finale', so I hope this will do :)**

**9:38 AM**

Upon entering the room, Nicole saw the older Hunter sitting at the small desk with his brother's laptop open before him. His eyes were wide and tired as if forced open, and he rested his chin in the palm of his hand. He glanced up when she entered, and the light jade-green eyes studied her for barely two seconds before returning to the screen of light in front of him. Nicole paid him little attention, shivers of nervousness touching her as a result of Sam's accusations, but nothing more. She trudged to one of the two beds and slumped down to the edge of it, raising her head when Sam finally appeared in the room as well. Dean didn't even look at Sam, and the younger man glanced at Nicole before sauntering casually in the direction of his brother.

"Hey, what're you doin'?"

"Looking for a Hunt."

"Already?" Dean didn't answer, and Sam sensed the angry tension. He shifted and glanced over at Nicole again. "We, uh, got the room re-newed."

"Obviously."

Sam shifted again. "I guess I should, uh, go call Bobby and...yeah." He waited for half a moment uncomfortably, before finally turning and slipping out the hotel room door again.

Nicole stared at the closed door for a moment with an eyebrow raised in question, before turning back to the other occupant of the room. "What's his problem?"

"You tell me."

Nicole sighed, standing up, and inched slowly towards Dean. "Listen, I'm sorry I'm pissing you off so much, okay? I just don't know what else to do."

"Leave us alone, perhaps?" Olive-eyes finally lifted up to meet her face, and the muscles in his jaw tightened.

Nicole stared at him in confusion and disbelief. "Dean, what in the _hell_ is your problem? Can't you even try to be civil?"

"Not sure why I should have to." He retorted, standing up and shutting the lid to the computer before staring stubbornly at her. "We should be out of this town by now, and looking for our Dad."

"Lot of good you've done looking for him, considering I'm the one that actually found him!" She snapped, and green flames blazed.

"How do we even know you're telling the truth? How do we know you're not totally full of shit, hoping just to get us to help you out?" The baritone voice snarled, and he took half a step forward. "Hell, you've already got Sam wrapped around your fucking finger! What more do you want?!"

"I want to know why you suddenly hate me!" She cried, and was barely able to register the flash of surprise on Dean's handsome, angry features before Sam stepped back through the door in interruption.

He paused, catching the end of Nicole's pleading, and registering the tense stances in both his brother and their guest. Neither Dean nor Nicole said anything though, only stared at him expectantly, so he spoke hesitantly. "I, uh, got ahold of Bobby. He's alright with helping you, uhm, learn to Hunt, Nicole. He's actually nearby on some other, uh, business and said he would uh..drop by to..figure things out..if that's alright.." His soft hazel eyes studied them both carefully, and he nearly expected something to explode beneath the tension.

"Fine." Dean answered sharply, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nicole was once again slightly distracted by the shape of his biceps as his arms crossed, but cleared her throat and tried to focus on the taller man. "So he's..he's coming here? Bobby?"

"Yeah."

"What, uh...what do I do? When he does show up?" She was nervous suddenly, unsure what to expect from the myterious friend of the Winchesters.

Sam smiled softly, as if he knew what she was thinking. "I think he just wants to see you, make sure you're not gonna give him too much trouble." He winked slightly and continued to smile with more and more ease. "Don't worry, Bobby's one of the best. Since Dean and I have our own business we need to take care of, he's definitley the best option you've got to learn from. And he's a good guy. Rough around the edges, but harmless enough."

"As long as you're not a demon or some shit, he's harmless enough." Dean muttered and Sam smiled faintly again.

"Yeah..don't worry, you'll be fine."

"So where are you guys going after this?" Nicole asked as a change of subject.

"I..don't know..Dean?" Sam asked, turning towards his older brother.

Dean shrugged, hands in his pockets now. "I haven't found anything yet, but I've only been looking for a few minutes. So who knows?" He wandered back over to the desk he'd set the laptop on, and shuffled through a few papers laying there. "Who wants food? I'm starving."

Sam rolled his eyes, unceasingly amazed at his brother's constant appetite, although thankful for the disappearance of tension between him and Nicole. "I'll pass, thanks."

"None here." Nicole added, also appearing surprised by the older Hunter's appetite.

"Whatever, just me then. Hey, Sammy, what time did Bobby say he'd get here?"

"Uh in about an hour."

"'kay.." Dean sighed and stopped going through papers. "Sammy," He pulled keys to his car from his pocket and tossed them at the taller Winchester. "Go get me some grub, will ya?"

Sam raised his eyebrows, his hand frozen where he'd caught the keys in mid-air. "I'm not a delivery boy."

"Are now." Dean smiled tightly, and then disappeared into the bathroom before Sam could argue.

The young man simply sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair, jingling the keys absently. "You sure you don't want something?" He asked Nicole, who shook her head.

"I'm positive, thanks."

"Alright...stupid, needy pain in the ass brother...." He muttered with a sigh, opening the the door once again and disappearing into the cold, grey winter daylight.

Nicole smiled slightly as he left, and then turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening shortly after Sam disappeared. She watched the tired-looking man walk across the room in front of her, before stopping near the window and pulling back a portion of the curtain to glance outside. "So, good job getting Sam out of the picture for a bit longer." She commented idly, looking away when the hard green gaze swept over her.

"What else do you want me to do?" He asked, moving towards her slowly. "Debate and shout with you while he stands nearby like an unwanted dog?"

"You didn't even deny it. Kudos to you."

Dean glared at her for a moment, before sighing and relaxing his tensed muscles. He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before dropping his hand and watching her carefully, round eyes pecuilarly soft. "What do you want, Nicole?"

She didn't look up, kept her dark eyes on the carpet beneath her feet from where she sat. "You heard me earlier, didn't you?"

"I still don't know what you want from me."

"Some explanation to the way you've been acting, would be nice."

"What is there to explain? I've told you what I think."

"Have you?" She asked, finally looking up at him.

He hesitated, the look she was giving him stalling his answer for a heartbeat. "I..do you think there's more?"

She looked away again. "No-"

"Then why are you-"

"-but Sam does."

The Hunter's words froze in his throat as he stared at her; what had Sam said to her? What was Sam _thinking_? Had he mentioned any of the thoughts Dean had shared with him? Had he noticed anything? "...What do you mean?"

Nicole sighed, as if it was a chore to explain these things, and twisted her hands, looking back down at the floor. "I-I don't know."

"Nicole.."

"He said it to me, Dean. I don't know what he was talking about."

"Said what to you?" He watched her carefully, intent.

She sighed again. "Well, he..uh, he said you were..y'know, worried. When I had my nightmares." She fell silent, uncomfortable, not sure why she was doing any of this at all. Dean was equally quiet, thinking and chewing on an appropriate answer.

"Well, I, uh...was worried." He made a mental note to 'accidentally' leave Sam behind at the next town they came to, and slowly lowered himself several inches away from Nicole on the bed. "I mean, I've already dealt with Sammy and his nightmare shit, your's...it freaked me out. I was worried that...that.." The Hunter hadn't thought through the entire sentence and scrambled for an ending. "That, uhm-"

The hotel door opened and Sam returned with a small bag of fast food for Dean, interrupting the conversation with what was only perfect timing. Dean jumped up and took the bag from him, becoming very interested in it's contents as Nicole nodded with a faint smile, and turned away.

* * *


	23. The Ever After

**Alright, this is it, the final chapter. The story is over after this, I'm fairly sure. I have a faint idea for a sequel, but doubt if it will follow through...we'll see, I suppose. Otherwise, thank you everyone for reading and definitley for reviewing, I hope you enjoyed the fic :)**

**3:23 PM**

Nicole blinked slowly awake, shifting and stretching out her arms until something popped. She rolled to her back and then sat up, looking around the darkened room. She wasn't sure when exactly she'd fallen asleep, but someone had closed the curtains and left the lights off, causing the small hotel room to have a dark hue to it. A dark, seated figure at the table caught her attention, and she rose quietly. The figure was leaning forward, head resting on folded arms, and she couldn't tell if it was awake or not. She crept closer, peering down at the body, until it shifted.

"Isn't it just easier to ask if I'm awake?" Dean asked softly, raising his head only slightly.

Nicole jumped back, and smiled uncomfortably. "S-Sorry. I wasn't sure it was you."

"Who else?"

She glanced around. "Shouldn't Sam and your friend be here by now?"

"Yeah, they were." Dean yawned and sat up straighter until his shoulders cracked, and then sighed heavily. "You were out though and so they decided to go on a shopping trip to re-stock our arsenal. No idea how much longer they'll be." The man sat leisurely in his chair, sideways and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

Nicole nodded slowly, wondering briefly if she should turn on the lights or not. "So uhm, you didn't go with them then?"

"No. No I, uh, wanted to wait for you to wake up."

She shifted nervously. "Why?"

The Hunter sighed heavily again, and rubbed the back of his neck, standing up. "Listen, you were right - we need to talk this over. We need to...to understand what terms we're both on, y'know?"

"Uh, no, not really.."

A stressed breath of air escaped the man's lips, and he scratched the back of his head in thought, pacing slowly. "You told me Sam thinks there's..that there's more behind how I feel about you Hunting." Nicole nodded. "He thinks it's that I'm worried..about you."

"I, uh, I guess so. Listen though, I think Sam's just trying to-"

"H-He's right."

Nicole paused, watching the pacing, uncomfortable man. "..what?"

"Sammy's right. I...I don't want you Hunting, because I'm worried about..about what it does to people.." Dean bit his lip, mind reeling with deciding how to voice his thoughts. Nicole was silent, waiting, and he continued. "I'm worried about the seriousness of it, and what it will eventually do to any relationship between you and your family...between you and..and any man, and I'm worried about what it..what it will do psychologically and...and I just..." The deep, jumbled voice of velvet trailed off blindly, as jade-green eyes flicked nervously to Nicole's stunned expression.

Silence crowded the room, roaring silence, and Nicole felt she was forced to speak, to say something. "Uhm...uhm, thanks Dean. F-for the, uh...concern." She swallowed uncomfortably. "But I mean, I don't have the closest relationship with my, uh, family as it is and..and you guys make it work, right? Other than your Dad disappearing, I mean.."

"Our mom died, when we were little. Because of something supernatural." Dean replied quietly, eyes on the floor.

"Oh. I..I didn't know. I'm sorry."

He shrugged, defenses already back up, and sat slowly on the bed. "When she died, Dad became obsessed with Hunting. He learned everything there was to know, trained for everything he could, and forced Sammy and I into it immediately. He sort of stopped being a Dad that night, and became our drill sargeant. I don't really hold anything against him. Sammy does, but that kid never liked anything about Hunting." A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth, but quickly faded with the distance in his soft green eyes. "Sometimes I think I hate him for it, for the Hunting, but not really. Dad lost the thing he loved most to something he didn't understand, and swore he would never let it happen again. I understand that. I understand it now."

He finished his epiphany, and let his head drop, eyes falling defeatedly to the floor. Nicole studied him for a moment, nervously thinking over what he'd just said. She settled down carefully beside him, dark blue eyes never leaving the rugged, tired features. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked softly.

Dean looked back up at her, round eyes dark in the low-lit room, wide and studying her closely. "Because I'm worried something similar might happen to you."

"If it helps Dean, I'll tell my parents I'm moving somewhere far away. Or I'll close off communication with them. Or something.."

He was shaking his head. "You shouldn't have to do that."

"But it's what I want, Dean."

"What about other people, Nicole? Not just your family?"

She hesitated, unsure of his answer. "...what 'other people' Dean?"

His eyes dropped again, and then scoured the walls. "Other people that care about you.." He mumbled quietly. "Y'know, Bobby will probably become a good friend to you once you learn. And..and Sammy's pretty fond of you...and me.." She could barely hear his last words, but understood them well enough.

Nicole smiled faintly. "You guys, of all people, should be the easiest to adjust if something happens. You've said yourselves you're used to this."

"Yes but do you think that ever makes it easier, Nicole?" Dean's voice held a harsh note, and green eyes flashed for just an instant. "It wasn't easy when we lost our mom, it's not easy thinking we've lost our Dad, do you think it'd be easy if we lost you?" Nicole was silent, not sure how to reply safely. "Why do you think I always get so angry when you insist on Hunting, Nicole? It's not because I hate you, not because I really want you to go away. God, I don't want you to go away.." He whispered, and then shook his head and grasped her arms in his strong hold, green eyes staring intensley into hers. "It scares me, Nicole, the thought of you seeing the things we've seen, or doing the things we've done. It scares me to imagine you might gets the thoughts and nightmares I have. And it scares me to imagine you might not make it away from a Hunt. Because what then, Nicole?" Uncontrolled, undefended emotions were blazing through his blood and mind, and The Hunter shook her gently, suddenly emotional olive-eyes desperate. "What do I do if you get killed?"

Nicole stared back in surprise, taken aback by the outburst and unsure what it meant, how to respond. "I...I don't...D-Dean.." She was only able to whisper his name, afraid if she said it too loud perhaps, he would realize the emotions he was leaving revealed, the weakness he'd just opened. But The Hunter didn't notice, didn't seem to care, as a sad, soft smile touched his lips and he brushed his fingers through her dark hair. Her lips formed his name again, but he was faster than her. His mouth was gentle against hers, and his palms cradled the sides of her face.

* * *

The room had fallen quiet, only the sounds of their soft breathing were heard. Nicole lay comfortably on her side, Dean's warm body pressing against her from behind, curving with her. Their sweat had cooled, but Dean's skin was still warm and encompassed Nicole in the warmth with him. He had an arm draped around her stomach, holding her to him, and his hot breath swept over her shoulders repeatedly. She wasn't worried about Sam or Bobby walking in on them like this - she couldn't even think about anything but what had happened, and how it felt. How it felt right now, to be warm and held against such a beautiful figure. Perhaps this was paying him back for trying to help her find Thomas, for getting her away from those murderers, for helping Thomas find peace and risking himself in the process. Or maybe it was really just because they both knew it was supposed to happen anyway, and they both wanted it. Wanted the feelings and the experience. Dean sighed into her hair and shifted, gently jostling her body with his. Nicole smiled softly to herself and pressed closer to him, unable to quite grasp the feeling of him holding her. Strong arms held her tighter, and gentle lips touched her bare shoulder. She closed her eyes, warm and comfortable, perfect compared to the cold outside. Immediately upon that thought, her eyes opened again.

"Dean?" Nicole whispered, and her quiet voice seemed to shatter the silence.

"Mmm?" He murmured, half-asleep and shifting again.

"What...what happens after this?"

"Mm..after what?" The words were rough and mumbled, tired and slightly confused.

"When we wake up." She whispered even softer, suddenly unsure, not wanting the moment to disappear and the warmth to leave. Ever. "When this is over, what happens...with us?"

The man behind her moved slightly, becoming more awake, and his arm draped around her shifted to grasp hers smaller hands inside of it, holding her close. "Life, I 'spose. Hunting, if that's what you still want."

"So...so then we-"

"I'm not going anywhere without you." He murmured, lips brushing her skin and voice like dark velvet in reassurance. "I never was."

Nicole smiled softly, a flush faint across her skin. "So can I help you guys look for your Dad?"

"You already are." He whispered in soft reply, and a warm sigh cascaded across her bare skin, strong arms pulling her closer.

**~ End**


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